


We Share The Same Sun

by 2121



Category: 5 Seconds of Summer (Band)
Genre: Angry Calum, Attempt at Humor, Concerned Luke, Depressed Calum, Drunk Calum, Drunk Michael, Explicit Language, Homeless Calum, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, M/M, Sad Calum, Student Luke, Student Michael, Worried Luke
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-10-19
Updated: 2016-07-01
Packaged: 2018-02-21 19:38:02
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 18
Words: 67,974
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2480009
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/2121/pseuds/2121
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Luke is pursuing his Music career by moving to London and taking a University degree. Being away from home is something new for Luke who had never travelled far from his parents before.</p>
<p>It doesn't take long for him to settle in and make friends with someone who is taking the same course as him and has the same interests, but it's when he meets Calum, who is homeless and living on the streets that his life begins to change.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Somewhere New

Today was the start of Luke Hemmings new life, he was now living in London and would soon be attending the University Of London to study Music. Being from Sydney, Luke had never imagined he would be able to attend a University on the other side of the world, but luckily because his parents had good jobs back in Australia, they had offered him the chance to move over to London and attend a University that he had always wanted to. So that Luke could live life to its full potential they had purchased him a flat, near to the university, it wasn't really anything special, being located above a shop, but it would be his own and they made sure it had 2 bedrooms so he could turn one into a practice room for his music. Luke had a passion for Music and had been playing the Guitar since he was 10, that was when he first realized that he wanted to be a musician. Unfortunately for Luke, the type of music he liked and the type of music other people of his age liked was greatly different, whereas everyone else was into pop music, Luke preferred Punk Rock, especially bands like Green Day, Blink 182 and Good Charlotte, this kind of made Luke unpopular at school and he always saw himself as an outcast with very few friends, so when the chance to move away came, he made sure to grab it with both hands.

Luke had arrived in London for the first time at the end of August and spent the first few nights at a hotel on the outskirts of the city as his flat was not ready for him to move into yet. Luke didn't really bring much with him from Australia but his parents made sure that he had some basics for his student life, so when he moved into his flat he found it had a wall mounted flat screen TV, newly fitted kitchen and brand new bedroom furniture and a little present his parents had bought him, a new laptop, which he found on the kitchen table with a note attached explaining that they expected to hear from him every week and to enjoy this new chapter of his life and to just be himself. So Luke was set, in a little under 2 weeks he would begin his University course and he hoped it would set him out on the road to the rest of his life. 

It was a particularly Cold September morning when Luke awoke, today was September 15th, the day that Luke officially started his Music course and he couldn't decide whether he was more nervous or excited. This was something that he had wanted to do for so many years but Luke knew how awkward he was around new people and always expected himself to say the wrong thing, but that didn't matter right now because he really should be getting out of bed. After a quick shower and some cereal Luke set off and once he got down the stairs to the pavement he immediately regretted not wearing a jacket, he just wasn't used to the London weather yet, but he's kinda lazy, so going back upstairs wasn't really an option, he'll just solider on through the cold, but maybe a jacket would be a wise move tomorrow. 

Luke's flat was only a 10 minute walk from his University campus but was on the other side of the campus to the student accommodation, so he didn't really live in a student type area. Once Luke arrived at the university his first job was to find his first lecture, luckily Luke had been given a guide in his welcome pack which outlined where he needed to be for the first term, which ran until Christmas. Looking at it he was pretty much in the same place for all of his lectures, room 115 which was located on the first floor of the west building, which really wasn't too far from where he was standing now. While looking at his calendar he noticed that he didn't have any lectures on a Wednesday or a Friday, which was handy, this meant he always got a long weekend, well at least for now, but being free for 2 days had its drawbacks, on a Thursday he had to be in a 9AM and he was there until 5PM, with only a 1 hour break at 1PM, Thursday's were going to be a killer. But that was all in the future, for now he should really start moving, if he stood around for much longer now he was going to miss his first lecture and he really didn't want that. 

Luke was now in the building and on the correct floor, he assumed that room 115 must be at the far end seeing as how all the low numbers were by the stairs. After a long walk up the corridor Luke was finally nearing the end, room113, room 114, room 115, finally, he felt like he'd walked forever. Upon entering the room Luke noticed that despite the lecture not starting for 10 minutes, it was quiet full already, so he was going to have to sit next to someone, so after looking around he could only see 1 person sitting by themselves, so Luke decided that was where he was going. The first thing he noticed about the lad he was walking towards was that he had bright green hair, something he had somehow failed to notice when he first decided this was where he was going to sit. When Luke sat down he immediately noticed that the lad next to him had a blink 182 wristband on, that wasn't something Luke was used to seeing, someone else who liked the same music as him, he wanted to say hi but just couldn't bring himself to do it, he just felt out of place being around other people. 

After a few minutes the lecturer walked in and introduced himself, Luke was paying so much attention he missed his name, but that didn't matter, he was soon talking about Music and this was the part Luke was interested in. For the next 3 hours all Luke did was take notes of what the lecturer was saying, so by the end he had over 11 pages worth, as well as a very sore wrist. When Luke raised his head and took a look around the room he noticed that he had been the only one writing any of this down, just to make him feel even more out of place. Once the lecturer had finished his speech he announced that he wasn't available tomorrow as he was needed on another campus so the lecture Luke was supposed to have in the morning was cancelled, meaning he would have an extra day off. Soon after this announcement everyone was informed that they were now free to leave and if they had any question that they were free to stay behind and ask them, luckily Luke didn't so he picked his things up and headed for the door, quickly followed by the lad with the green hair, "Hey" Luke heard from behind him, when he turned he saw the lad following him with Luke's bag in his hand, "You almost forgot this" he said handing it over, "Oh, Shit, Thanks" Luke said, "I'd forget my head if it wasn't screwed on" Luke continued, "No Problem" the lad replied, "I like your shirt, you a fan of Good Charlotte?" he asked pointing at Luke's shirt, which he'd forgotten he was wearing, "Oh, yeah, I've been to see them a couple of times, they were the first band I really liked" Luke replied, "I see you have a Blink wristband, I like them as well" Luke said, "Cool, It's nice to find someone who appreciates good music, I've found them hard to come by" the lad said, "Yeah. I'm Luke by the way" Luke said placing his hand out in front of himself, "Hi Luke, I'm Michael" He said reaching out and shaking Luke's hand, "I think we might become good friends" Michael said, "I think so" Luke agreed as the 2 of them began their decent of the stairs back to the ground floor. Once they reached it Luke and Michael continued walking in the same direction, "So where are you living?" Michael asked, "Um, I've got a flat about 10 minutes away. You?" Luke replied, "I'm in the student accommodation, it's ok, I mean I have my own room and everything, so it's not like I have to share to much, plus I get my meals made for me" Michael answered, "That's good" Luke replied. As the lads continued to walk along the corridor Michael made small talk about their music lecturer, to which Luke agreed, "I'm guessing from the accent you aren't from around these parts?" Michael then asked, "Spot on. I'm Australian" Luke replied, "Oh, cool, my dad's Australian, but we've always lived over here" Michael said, "Cool. Well this is my first time over here. I've really jumped in at the deep end, haven't I, since I'm kinda here for 4 years whether I like it or not" Luke said, "Oh, I think you'll like it" Michael said, "Anyway, I'm this way, so I'll see you around" Michael said heading down the path towards the 3 tower blocks that were the students accommodation, as Luke headed in the opposite direction, towards his Flat.

Once Luke had gotten back to his flat and dropped off his things he decided to head back out for a wander, this time he remembered to take a coat. Once he left his flat he decided to walk in the opposite direction, because despite the fact he'd now been in the area for a couple of weeks, he'd never taken the time to see what was around him, the only thing he knew was here was the Domino's Pizza where he'd been a few times. After a leisurely stroll around he noticed 2 things, firstly there wasn't really a lot of shops in the area and secondly was that there were plenty of fast food places to go, he'd have no trouble finding somewhere to eat over the next few years. After maybe 20 minutes more of walking he decided to head back to his flat so he could catch up on all the TV he'd missed while he was staying in the hotel. Luke arrived back at his flat just in time as the heavens opened and the area was hit by an almightily rain shower, fortunately, by this point, Luke was safely inside and soon settled down to watch some TV, which was all he did for the rest of the night before he fell asleep on the sofa.

'ZZZZ'….'ZZZZ'…..'ZZZZ'…. Was the first thing Luke could remember after falling asleep last night. When he finally woke up he realized that it was his phone buzzing on the table, when he reached it he realized that it was just the alarm going off to tell him to get up, which was fine, because it worked, only thing was that he wasn't at Uni today so really didn't need to be up this early. Luke had never really been one for early starts, he was more often than not late for school and often got himself into trouble for falling asleep during his classes. His teachers often told him that if he put his mind to it he could do anything he wanted, but Luke didn't just want to do anything, he wanted to be a musician and made sure he was never late to a Music class and never once fell asleep in them. Now that he was awake he had to find something to do with his time, 'What do people who get up at 7AM actually do with their time' he thought to himself, looking around his flat, 'Well, I suppose I could go and get some food, since I haven't really got any' he thought, 'yes, that's a good plan' he decided, so off he went to change into some fresh clothes, before heading out to the shop that was just down the street. 

When Luke left his flat he noticed that the street was very quiet, 'clearly no one around he does early starts, oh well, at least the shop won't be busy' he thought to himself. After making his was down the street and reaching the corner without passing a shop he had to stop and think about were the shop actually was, he was sure it was down here somewhere, luckily when he turned around there was a sign attached to the lamppost pointing in the direction he'd just come from saying 'Local Shop', 'Ah, it's at the other end of the street' he thought to himself, as he turned and walked back up the street, passing his flat along the way, before reaching the shop, which was on the corner, opposite the bus station, 'How could I forget where it was' Luke thought as he entered. 

As Luke expected, at this time of the morning there wasn't really anyone there, just the owner and 1 young guy buying a newspaper, so Luke grabbed a basket and wandered around for 15 or so minutes, picking up all of the things he thought he'd need but probably wouldn't. Once Luke had grabbed everything, he placed his basket on the check out and waited as the guy scanned all of his items, "That's £19.67" the guy behind the counter said, "Oh, right" Luke mumbled as he searched through his wallet for the correct amount, he still hadn't fully grasped English money yet. After scrolling through about 8 £5 notes he reached in and pulled a £20 out, "here you go" Luke said handing over the £20, "Thank you, here is your 33p change, have a nice day" the guy said, "Ok, thanks, you to" Luke replied as he grabbed his bags off the counter and headed out of the shop. When Luke pushed the door open he felt it hit something and almost come back to smack him in the face, whatever it was, it wasn't there when Luke went in. So again, but this time slower Luke pushed the door open and exited, only to find someone curled up in the corner behind the door in sheltered entrance to the shop, "Oh, sorry, I didn't see you, are you ok?" Luke said looking at the person in the corner, "Yes, I'm fine" a deep voice replied, then Luke realized, from the scruffy clothes, the blanket and the lack of shoes that this person must be homeless, "are you sure, you don't look ok?" Luke asked again, "I'm sure" the voice replied as the person raised the head to look at Luke, who was instantly shocked, the person he saw before him couldn't have been much older than himself and he was living on the streets, this firstly made him feel incredibly lucky to be in the position he was in, then made him fell incredibly sorry for the lad he was looking at, because in Luke's eyes he was beautiful, he had dark brown scruffy long hair, which looked like it had been cut with a sharp knife, due to the jagged edges, as well as stunning brown eyes, that Luke couldn't stop looking into, "This isn't a freak show" the lad shouted after Luke had stared for a few seconds, "Oh, no, sorry, here, look" Luke said pulling his wallet out from his pocket, "Take this, go and get yourself something" Luke said taking a £5 note out of his wallet and trying to hand it the lad, "I don't want your charity, I want to be left alone" the lad replied staring at Luke, "Ok, look, I'm just going to put the money here and then I'll leave" Luke said as he put the note down on the ground and turned before walking away, but just out of the corner of his eye he saw the lad pick the money up off the ground.

That was it, for the rest of the day all Luke could think about was the boy outside of the shop, with the stunning eyes and how bad he felt about it. There was Luke, an 18 year old with his own flat, while only a five minute walk away was someone around the same age as him who has only, the clothes on his back and a blanket, those were the only things he had in the world. After a long day of doing nothing Luke fell asleep that night still thinking about it.


	2. Audience Of One

Luke awoke the next morning at a much later time, because this time he remembered to switch his alarm off. After grabbing some breakfast and watching some morning TV he decided to head out to the local book store to grab some books to read, just to pass the time, he didn't want anything to do with his course or music in general. Once Luke had grabbed his keys he headed out and once down the stairs he realized that the weather actually wasn't too bad, yes it was still cloudy, but the temperature was ok, not that it mattered because he would be inside most of the day reading. Luke strolled down to the store, which was about 15 minutes away and found it was relatively quiet when he got there, so he wandered upstairs to look for something. After looking around for a while he settled on the Harry Potter books, because, believe it or not, he'd never either read the books or seen the films, maybe now was his chance to catch up. After looking at the books for a while he picked up the box set and took it to the desk, where the assistant bagged it up for him and told him the price would be £24, which Luke had on him, he just hadn't gotten to grips with English money yet, but eventually worked out that he had a £20 note and a £5 note, so handed it over and when he received the change he put it into the charity tin that was on the counter.

Luke walked back to his flat and along the way noticed that it was busier, he guessed that was because of the time of day, with it being 12:35 it was a good assumption that a lot of places were having lunch breaks now. Once back at his Flat, Luke put his phone into his docking system and turned the music on, then kicked his shoe's off and lay down on his sofa with his first book in hand to begin reading. Once Luke had started reading he just forgot to stop, it was about 6pm when he finally put the book down. After a quick stop for food he settled back in and set his sights on finishing the first book tonight, which in the end proved not to be a problem as he was finished just after 9PM and after that he decided to go to bed so he had no problem getting up the following morning. 

The next morning Luke was up early and out of his flat by 8:30, he didn't even need his alarm to wake him up. On his way out Luke made sure to grab his coat, as from the sound on the roof, he assumed it was raining. After a very wet walk to Uni, Luke was relieved to get himself under some cover. On his way up to the music room Luke bumped into Michael, "Hi Michael" Luke said, "Oh, Hi Luke, how you doing?" Michael replied, "I'm Ok, Yourself?" Luke asked, "Yeah, I'm good. Looking forward to today?" Michael asked, "Well, not really, 7 hours in 1 day is a lot" Luke said, "Yep, couldn't agree more" Michael replied as they walked into the music room and took their seats. 

The lecture started bang on 9AM and lasted until 12:45 when the lecturer announced that they would take a break and reconvene at 2PM for the afternoon session. "Hey, Luke, I've got to run back to my room and grab my wallet but once I'm back do you fancy grabbing a Coffee?" Michael asked, "Yeah, sure" Luke replied, "Ok, I'll meet you at the bottom of the stairs in like, 10 minutes" Michael said as he jogged down the corridor towards the stairs. Luke had a slow walk down to where he was going to meet up with Michael, when he arrived he noticed some seats by the window were free, so wandered over and sat down. Luke had put the next book from his Harry Potter box set in his bag to read over his lunch our but now he was going for coffee he thought he could maybe just get started, ready to read on further tonight. When Luke pulled the book out from his bag he noticed that he'd actually put the first book in his bag, not the second, so he didn't have anything to read, so he put the book back and just sat and looked out of the window at the rain still pouring down outside. 

Luke's stair was interrupted about 10 minutes later by a voice from behind him, "Hey Luke" Michael shouted as Luke turned around, "You ready to go?" Michael asked, "Yep" Luke replied as he stood up and walked over to Michael, "Come on then, we've only got 1 hour" Michael said, "were are we going anyway?" Luke asked, "Oh, It's just a small place behind the student accommodation, but not many people go there" Michael replied, "Oh, ok" Luke said as the 2 lads strolled along the hallway, towards to back doors of the Uni, just to try and stay out of the rain a little bit long. Once the 2 had excited the building they were immediately drenched by the rain as they ran across the back courtyard and under the cover that the tall student buildings provided, then after a short run across a road Michael wandered up a few steps and into a door, into which Luke followed. When Luke got inside he was amazed to see such a lovely looking place, which was hidden behind a old looking exterior to the building. "Do you just want to sit by the window?" Michael asked, "Um, if you like" Luke said as the 2 lads sat down. It wasn't long until a waitress came over to see what they wanted, "What can I get you two then?" She asked, "Um, just 2 coffee's I guess" Michael said, "Yes, sounds good" Luke added, the waitress then wandered off to make the lads there order. 

The 2 of them sat in silence until there coffees were brought across and placed on the table, "Thanks" Luke said to the waitress, who smiled and walked to take another order from some more people. "So Luke, what did you do with your day's off?" Michael asked, "Not a lot really, I started reading Harry Potter, seeing as I've never read it before, that was pretty much all I did yesterday" Luke answered, "You've never read them, Oh, you're missing out, the films are really good as well" Michael said, "Yeah, I've heard, but I'm going to read the books first" Luke replied, "Good plan, there better anyway. How are you finding London?" Michael asked, "Um, it's ok, I haven't really had a good look around yet, only around here and then It's just a lot of shops" Luke replied, "Yep, you've just described this place, it's just shops & fast food" Michael said, "Oh, there are a few homeless people as well, it's not something I ever saw back home" Luke said, "Yeah, you get that a lot around here. Some of them are ok, as long as you leave them alone, but some of them can be real psycho's, I was told that a young guy once had his finger bitten off by some young looking tramp, just for trying to talk to him, but that was just a rumor" Michael said, "Well I managed to hit one with a door the other day when I was coming out of a shop. I stopped and asked if he was ok, but he just wanted to be left alone, but I gave him £5 in the end because I felt sorry for him" Luke said, "Wow, you probably made his day with that" Michael replied, "He didn't look to impressed with it" Luke said.

After finishing their coffee's and walking back to Uni, the lads sat in the music room and talked music, "So what's your weapon of choice Luke, Guitar, Bass, Drums, Keys, Banjo?" Michael asked, "Guitar" Luke replied, "Good choice, it's mine as well" Michael said, "Can you sing?" Michael asked, "Well, maybe just a bit, nothing too much" Luke answered, "Same here, I think we should get together sometime and jam" Michael said, "Yeah, cool" Luke said as the room fell silent as there lecturer walked in. After nearly 3 hours, there lecture was over and they were free to leave, which didn't take long as nearly everyone rushed for the door. Luke and Michael held back, just to let the rush clear before they excited. "So I guess, I'll see you tomorrow" Michael said, "Looks like it" Luke replied, "Just remember Luke, Avoid rabid looking tramps" Michael said, "Ok, I'll try" Luke said laughing as Michael wandered away down the hallway.

Luke jogged his way back to his flat, trying his hardest not to get wet, but his efforts were useless, he'd never seen rain like it, it was just relentless, there had been no breaks in it all day. When he reached his flat, he failed to notice the huge puddle that had formed at the foot of the stairs and stood straight in it, covering his shoe's and the splash drenched his jeans, 'For Fuck Sake' Luke thought to himself as he jogged up the stairs to his front door. When he got in, he quickly removed his shoes, socks and Jeans and replaced them with new ones, 'what the fuck I'm I supposed to do with these now' Luke muttered to himself looking at his mud covered jeans, then he had a light bulb moment, below him is a shop which happens to be a dry cleaners, 'Genius' Luke thought to himself, because he wasn't walking to the shop for some soap powder in this weather, so, the coat came back off the hook and off Luke went back down the stairs, this time though the made sure to avoid the puddle. Once Luke had safely negotiated the puddle he wandered around the corner to the front of the dry cleaners, only to find it was closed for the week, the sign in the window read, 'Closed for repair work, open as usual on Monday', how had Luke not noticed this, he's been living above it for 3 weeks, how had he failed to not notice the lack of noise. 

Luke was now stood outside getting wet, the exact thing he'd been trying to avoid, 'I'm out now' Luke thought to himself as he wandered past the shop front and down the street to the shop. When Luke arrived he saw that it was busy inside, but fortunately he only wanted 1 thing, which happened to be at the front, so he was in and out quickly, allowing him to get back to his flat without any delay. On his jog back to his flat Luke stopped again outside the dry cleaners as he spotted a familiar sight, there lying in the doorway was the lad from outside the shop from earlier in the week, Luke was a bit stuck because he wanted to see how he was but felt it was a bit weird and after that story Michael told him earlier he was a bit hesitant. After 2 minutes just stood around Luke took the plunge and approached to lad, "Hey, how are you doing?" Luke said, to which he got no response, "Hey, I said how are you doing" Luke said again approaching the doorway, this time the lad moved his blanket down and looked at Luke, "Your asking why? Am I in your way?" the lad replied, "No, I was just wondering how another human was doing, it's not a crime" Luke said, "Well, seeing as it's been raining all day and this is the first covered spot I've had, you can imagine I'm having a great day, now can you go away" the lad said, pulling his blanket back over his head, "do they not have shelters for people like you?" Luke asked, "People like me?" the lad asked, "Well, you know, tramps and beggars" Luke said, immediately regretting saying it, "Tramps and beggars. At which point have I begged you for something?" He replied, "Ok, that's not what I meant" Luke replied, "Then why say it" the lad said as he turned away from Luke, "Wow, you're really difficult aren't you. All I asked was how you were doing and now I've managed to piss you off" Luke said looking slightly confused, "You pissed me off when you interrupted my sleep" the lad mumbled, "Ok, fair enough, if you want to be like that" Luke said as he walked away back to his flat. Avoiding the puddle, Luke walked back up and into his flat, hanging his coat back up and placing his clothes in the washing machine. Now that that was done Luke could get around to starting the second Harry Potter book, something he'd wanted to do all day, then just as he sat down, he thought, 'Why did Michael say I'd see him tomorrow, I'm off tomorrow, and why did I agree with him' Luke looked slightly bemused but anyway, he knew he was off tomorrow, so he settled in to a night of reading and listening to music. 

After a late night of reading and then a long night of sleep, Luke finally awoke at 11AM, when some sunlight broke through his bedroom blinds. His first thought was, 'It's stopped raining' as he rolled over to look at the time, when he saw how late it was he decided to skip breakfast and just head out for an early lunch, that was of course after he had a shower. Once out of the shower and ready to leave Luke wandered out of his front door, making sure to lock it and skipped down the stairs onto the pavement, before wandering up the street to a small Café on the corner, which he had passed plenty of times but never gotten around to going into. Luke took up a seat outside of the front door and looked at the menu, he chose to have the soup of the day, which happened to be mushroom, which was one of his favorites, he waited patiently until the waiter came over to take his order and then lay back in his chair and took in his surroundings, although he was only a few minutes from his flat it was like a completely different world, Luke loved that around here there were some grassed areas, which was something there weren't many of in London. Once Luke's soup arrived he took his time eating it as he was enjoying his time just relaxing and sitting in the sun, but once finished he made sure to leave a tip for the waiter and had a slow walk back up to his flat.

Luke spent the rest of his day in his flat, just reading and listening to his music, just like he had on his other days off, around 9PM Luke was starting to feel hungry and after a quick look around the kitchen, he decided it was probably wise to order in, since he couldn't really find anything. After a quick look at the menu's he'd picked up over the past few weeks, he decided that he was better off just picked the food up himself from the pizzeria down the street, so he quickly rang up and ordered. By the time he got himself ready to go out it was dark outside and the temperature had dropped considerably, so sensibly, Luke opted for a coat.

Luke wandered down the street to the Pizzeria, to pick up his Pizza that he'd ordered, on the way he got an unexpected surprise when he heard a voice from behind him, "Hey Luke" Luke heard as he turned to see Michael wandering towards him, "Hey Michael, what are you doing out here?" Luke asked, "Fancied a walk. Didn't think you'd be out this late" Michael said, "Oh, just fancied a pizza" Luke replied, "Sounds like a great idea, mind if I join you?" Michal asked, "Not at all" Luke replied as the two of them wandered towards the corner where the Pizzeria was. "So you live around here?" Michael asked, "I do, just back where we came from" Luke answered, "It's nice around here" Michael said, "apart from the messy streets, hobo's and tramps" he added looking around, "It's ok, I mean I'll be out most days so I won't even be around here" Luke replied as they reached the Pizzeria. Luke picked his order up, then waited as Michael ordered and then waited for his, after they both had their Pizza's they began the walk back up the street, "So, you want to come back to mine for a while?" Luke asked, "I guess, if it means I can eat my Pizza earlier" Michael replied.

Luke and Michael arrived back at Luke's flat, after hanging there coat up and Michael insisting that he took his shoe's off they wandered into the living room, "Wow, Luke this place is awesome" Michael shouted, "Yeah, it's pretty cool" Luke replied laughing, "Can I have a look around?" Michael asked, "If you want" Luke answered as Michael placed his pizza down on the table and wandered back into the hallway. After about 30 seconds Luke heard Michael shout, "Luke, why do you have 2 rooms?", Luke walked into the hall to see Michael looking into his 2nd room, "Well, it's so I can practice my music without making the rest of the house a mess" Luke said, "You can go in if you like" he continued, as he said that Michael stumbled into the room, "How many guitars did you bring with you?" Michael asked, "Well, My parents got a load of stuff shipped over for me so they just sent all of the ones I had at home. I think there are 5" Luke replied, "And the keyboard" Michael said looking confused, "Incase I get bored of the guitars" Luke answered, "Ok, this place is way to cool, but now I'm really hungry" Michael said as he turned and wandered back into the living room to eat his Pizza.

Michael and Luke made short work of the Pizza's they had bought and it wasn't long until there was nothing left, "Hey Luke, I've enjoyed hanging out but I'm gonna have to get back to my place" Michael said, standing up, "Ok, no probs" Luke said as he and Michael walked into the hallway, where Michael stood and put his shoe's back on, "Is this shoe thing British? I've never had anyone take their shoe's off before when they've come to visit me, like when I was at home?" Luke asked, "I'm not sure, I just think it helps keep your carpets clean for longer" Michael replied as both boys started to laugh, "Oh, thank god, I wouldn’t want them getting to dirty" Luke said smiling. Luke watched as Michael left and waited until he'd reached the bottom of the steps before closing and locking the door, before deciding it was late enough to go to bed.

Luke spent the whole of Saturday doing nothing but reading, he quickly finished off the 2nd book in the series and made it well through the third one, he'd have liked to get further but he's not the quickest reader. Luke planned on having a quiet Sunday as well but he knew he needed to get some food in for the week, so was going to go out early before everyone else woke up. 

Luke was awoken early on Sunday by his alarm, as he rolled over to switch it off, he immediately began to regret setting it for 7:45, but he couldn't do a lot about it now, so he may as well get up. By the time he was ready to leave his flat it was about 8:30 but he was sure there wouldn't be many people out at this time and when he got down onto the street, he discovered he was right, there was hardly anyone outside. Luke took a slow walk down to the shop, he was enjoying the early morning sun too much to rush, it was just one of those days when it was nice to be outside, he might have to re-think his plans if the weather stays like this. Luke knew his morning plan only worked with the smaller shops because the bigger supermarkets didn't open until late on a Sunday, but since he was only buying for 1, that wasn't really an issue. Just like he'd hoped, when he got the shop there was only 1 other person there, so Luke grabbed a basket and began to look around. Luke really struggled to find what he wanted, that was probably because he had no idea what he wanted, he wasn't even sure what his parents used to buy, so he had no real idea what he was doing, but after a little while he picked up the odd thing and stood looking at the confectionary, 'Do I get some?' Luke thought to himself, that's when he heard shouting coming from the front of the shop, at first he just ignored it but when it continued he thought he should see what was going on. When Luke got to the front of the shop he was greeted by the sight of 3 guys scuffling, soon he realized that one of them was the shop owner, then he notice that one of the others was the other guy who had been in the shop when Luke entered, but he just couldn't work out why they were grappling with each other, that was until he noticed who the third guy was, 'Bloody hell' Luke thought to himself, noticing that the other guy in the scuffle was the homeless lad he had tried to talk to, watching from a distance Luke still had no idea what was going on but that soon became apparent.

After what seemed like forever, but was probably only a minute the shopkeeper grabbed a hold of the homeless lads arm and pinned it back against the wall, while the shopper grabbed the other and pushed it behind the lads back, by this point Luke had worked out that they were working together and it was most likely that the lad had tried to steal something and gotten caught, Luke's suspicions were soon confirmed. "Right, that's the last time you try and steal from me" the shopkeeper shouted reaching over for his phone, "We'll see what the police have to say about this" he continued as Luke could see that the lad was looking incredibly frightened and his eyes were starting to swell up with tears. Part of Luke was glad that this was happening after the way he had spoken to him the other night, but at the same time he kept thinking how this was someone who had fallen on hard times and from the first time Luke had looked into his brown eyes he'd felt something for him, so with that in mind Luke stepped forward, "Um…., excuse me, sir" Luke said, very unconvincingly to the shopkeeper as he dialed a number into his phone, "Yes, what, can't you see I'm busy" he replied, "Yes, I was simply wondering if I could perhaps purchase the items that this lad was trying to steal and whether you would consider letting him go, just this once?" Luke said, feeling incredibly nervous, this wasn't the kind of thing he would normally do, "Oh, so you're in on this to" the shopkeeper said, "No, to be honest, I've never met this lad before in my life, I'm just someone who believes in second chances, I can guarantee if you let him go now, he won't come back into your shop" by this point Luke had no idea what he was saying but he'd dived in so might as well stick to his plan. The shopkeeper looked confused by the whole thing, but eventually put the phone down and looked at Luke, "So, you'll pay for a complete stranger to go free?" he said, "I will, as long as he's allowed to leave without the police being involved" Luke said, before the shopkeeper looked at the lad and then back at Luke, still bemused by what was going on, "Ok, but I never want to see either of you in here again" he said looking at both of the lads, "ok, well I'll have these and whatever he was taking" Luke said placing his basket on the counter. Once they shopkeeper had totaled up Luke's items and added on the extra items he took the money from Luke and passed him his change, "Right, now you can both leave" the shopkeeper said pointing to the door. Luke grabbed his items off the counter and headed for the door, when he got there the shopper, who still had a hold of the homeless lad, let him go and pushed him towards the door, which Luke was holding open, then once they were both outside, the shopkeeper walked over and pushed the door closed behind them. 

Both lads stood outside the shop for a while before the homeless lad spoke, "Why did you do that?" he asked Luke, "Well you seem like you've had your fair share of bad breaks in life, and you probably don’t need another one" Luke answered, "But, after the way I spoke to you the other night, I would have just left and thought 'he got what he deserved'" the lad said, "It crossed my mind, I'm not going to lie, but like I said, I believe in second chances" Luke said, "I still don't get it, but, I guess I owe you a thanks" the lad muttered, "You're welcome. Anyway what were you trying to steal?" Luke said looking in his shopping bag, "Just some chocolate, not much" the lad murmured as he watched Luke pull it from the bag, "We'll I guess this is yours then" Luke said, "Thanks" the lad replied, "Do you have a name?" Luke asked, "Oh, Calum, I'm Calum", "Ok, Calum, I'm Luke, enjoy your chocolate" Luke said, "Just before I go, 2 things, Please stay away from this place, I won't bail you out of the shit next time and maybe the next time someone tries to talk to you, you should give them a chance instead of acting like a dick" Luke added, "Ok, I'll try" Calum said. "Anyway, I'm sure I'll see you around" Luke said as the lads split and went in there separate directions. Luke arrived back at his flat feeling like a better person for what he'd done this morning, although he wasn't sure it would make much of a difference to the way Calum life was, but at least he tried. Luke spent the whole day in his flat, reading for the most part, but later in the day he gave it a rest and moved onto watching some TV before going to bed.


	3. Gone Too Soon

The next week flew by for Luke, his workload from his music course was starting to pick up and he found himself with very little time to himself. After Monday & Tuesday at Uni, Luke spent Wednesday in the Uni library doing research about topics he was able to write his midyear report on, he had no idea which one to choose and by the time he'd decided it was dark outside. The late night in turn didn't set him up well for his long Thursday, by the time the afternoon came around he was almost asleep on the desk, it was only the small talk with Michael that kept him awake, so he was so pleased when the day ended and he was able to head back to his flat for his long weekend off. After an incredibly lazy Friday were Luke barley left his bed, his Saturday was interrupted early by a loud knock on the door just after 9AM. When Luke got himself up and to the door he was greeted by the owner of the dry cleaners he lived above, who explained that there had been a leak in one of their roof pipes, which meant it was underneath Luke's floor, and that the plumber that had been called out to fix it needed access from above to fix the leak. To say Luke was annoyed would have been an understatement, but it was explained to him when he moved into the flat that if anything happened to the shop he may have to allow them access through his flat. Luke said that he needed 10 minutes to grab some stuff and that he would just go out for the day, so he wasn't in the way of the plumber, the shopkeeper said that he was grateful and walked back down the stairs as Luke went back into his flat, grabbed some things, including his laptop, books and his phone and headed out for the day.

Luckily for Luke, the weather was on his side, despite being nearly October the sun was out and air was warm, so Luke headed for the local park, were he'd hopefully find a nice quiet place to sit. When he arrived he could see that there was a football game being played on the field in the centre of the park, but there were very few people around the outside, which is where the path ran, so Luke found himself a nice spot on a hill and sat down. From were Luke was he could see most of the park and its surrounding area, which was helpful as he could now see which was the way back towards his flat. Luke sat for a while, watching the football game from a distance, thinking that in the summer this place would be nice to come, when it was actually warm and sunny, not just like today. After so long Luke was bored of watching the football, so decided to read one of his books, by this point Luke had moved onto the 4th Harry Potter book, but it had been a little while since he'd read the 3rd one, so he was going to have to get himself back into them. Luke quickly reacquainted himself with the books and spent the next few hours just sitting reading, that was until he decided to go for a walk around the park and see if there was anything else around it, also he really needed a drink and hadn't thought to bring one. It took almost half an hour to reach the other side of the park, not because it was that big, but because Luke was walking really slowly, but luckily for Luke there was a small stand at the far end selling drinks, so Luke bought himself 2 bottles of water and began the walk back to his spot on the hill. 

When Luke arrived back at the hill, it had been taken over by a large group of football fans who had come down to watch the afternoon match, which Luke had seen start on his way back from the drinks stand. It was at this point Luke considered going back to his flat, but then he decided to look around for somewhere else to sit, it was too nice a day to be sitting inside he thought to himself. Luke walked around the park until he found himself an empty bench, luckily it was located over the back of the football field, so he didn't get the noise that he would have had he been closer. At first he was comfortable just sitting reading, but he soon started to become irritated at how close people were when they walked past, so he decide to move. At first Luke was unsure where to move to, but then he remembered seeing a large seating area down by the drinks stall earlier, so he headed back up towards there, he wasn't sure how far he'd walked today but it seemed like a long way. 

Once he'd reached the seating area he was glad to see that there was a lot of empty seats and not only that but there were double sided benches as well, that's what Luke wanted, so he looked for the most isolated one and sat there, 'Finally' Luke thought to himself as he started reading again. Luke was sat at the bench for the rest of the afternoon and managed to get most of the way through his book, until he decided it was time to go when the light started to fade at around 6PM. Grabbing his bag and placing his book back in he started to make his way back through the park, he noticed it was nowhere near as busy as earlier, but there were still people around, mostly dog walkers, but some there were still people around the big field in the centre. As Luke approached the exit he notice Calum, curled up on one of the benches, unlike the last few time Luke had seen him he was without his jacket and looked very cold, so Luke went over to see how he was.

Luke approached, he knew Calum hadn't seen him as he wasn't in his line of sight, "Alright Calum" Luke said, startling Calum, who quickly turned around, "Oh, Luke, Yeah, I guess so, you know, for being how I am" Calum replied, "Mind if I sit?" Luke asked, causing Calum to move himself so there was space on the bench for 2, "Guess not" Calum replied as Luke sat down next to him, "So, is this home for you?" Luke asked, "For tonight" Calum answered, "So, you move every night?" Luke asked, "I don't think you get this homeless thing do you. I have no home, so I move around to where ever I think is best for the night" Calum replied, looking slightly annoyed at Luke for asking that question, "Sorry, I just thought that you might have a place you go at night, you know, maybe in a group, to look out for each other" Luke said, "Well, if you're lucky enough to make friends you can do that but I'm more of a loner, I fend for myself and no one else" Calum said, "And how's that treating you, I see your jackets gone?" Luke asked, "I never said I was any good at fending for myself, I just said that's what I do" Calum replied, getting defensive, "Ok, I just wondered. Can you not get yourself into one of those homeless shelters?" Luke asked, "There full, and the people that are in there aren't going to be leaving anytime soon, so I just scrape together what I can and get on with life" Calum replied, Luke looked slightly confused, "I guess that's a good way to live when you've got nothing" Luke said, "So how do you, like, get food and things?" Luke added, "As you can see, I don't get a lot, but mainly by stealing or searching through people's trash, it's not nice I know, but it gets me by" Calum said, Luke was disgusted by the idea of going through someone's trash, "So do you not get hot meals from anywhere?" Luke asked, "Not really, maybe if somewhere is giving free food away, but who wants a homeless guy, looking like this in there shop" Calum answered, "You don't look that bad" Luke said, "Have you paid any attention to what I'm wearing?" Calum said as Luke looked at him, "I have no shoe's, most of a pair of jeans, 1 shirt, with some holes in, which looks like it was in puddle of mud for about 3 weeks and a beanie, which isn't really worth wearing, because it's not warm" Calum continued, "Do you not have somewhere to be, it can't be good for you to be talking to me" Calum said, "I really don't care what it looks like talking to you and I don't have anywhere to go, so I might just stay here" Luke said, "Ok, Luke, I'm just going to say this straight, since you didn't get the hint. I'm a homeless no one and you’re a Uni student, who clearly has money, why the hell are you talking to me, I'm sure there are people at Uni more suited to you, If you think you have to talk to me because you hit me with a door, you really don't have to, I get hit with more than doors every day, I'm just not bothered, so if you're doing this out of sympathy, you don't need to be here, I've been by myself for so long I don't need someone to look over me" Calum said, looking straight into Luke's eyes, "you think I'm doing this because I feel bad for hitting you with a door?" Luke asked, "Well why else would someone like you be bothered by some nobody like me?" Calum asked, "Look, the reason I talked to you is because, I could have been in your place, but luckily I'm not, I do feel sorry for you, but only because if I was in your place, I would hope someone would take 5 seconds to talk to me" Luke explained, "So you're doing this because?" Calum asked, "Because I hope it makes you feel better, make you think that people do care" Luke said, "I don't know if I've understood what this whole conversation has been about but It's nice that you decided to talk to me and I guess it does make me feel like people care" Calum replied, "Just out of interest Calum, how old are you?" Luke asked, "I'm 18, why?" Calum replied, "You know, were the same age, I just find it interesting how different our lives are" Luke replied, "I don't see how it makes any difference, but ok" Calum said, "Look, Calum, I'm going to have to go, but I'd like to talk again tomorrow, do you know where you'll be?" Luke asked, realizing it was now getting very dark, "Not really, but I'll hang around here if I can" Calum replied, "Ok, I'll come by tomorrow morning and see if your still here" Luke said as he stood up, "See ya Calum" he said as he walked off, "Ok" Calum muttered as Luke disappeared into the distance.

Luke returned to his flat to find no one there but a note on the table, 'Fixed the leak, your carpet might be a bit damp in the corner so I left it pulled back, you can just put it back once it's dried, thanks, Sam', 'Thank god that's finished' Luke thought to himself, he'd had visions of it taking days to fix. Luke did what the note said and put the carpet back in place, it seemed dry enough, then he settled down and watched some TV, before turning in for the night.

The next day Luke awoke to the sound of rain on his roof, his first thought was what it must be like for Calum, who didn't have a roof over his head. Luke was very much looking forward to seeing Calum again today, he couldn't explain it but he felt a connection to Calum that he'd never felt towards anyone else. Luke was hoping that Calum would be in the park, just were they had been last night, even though it was raining, he hoped that he'd stayed. Luke made sure to eat his breakfast quickly and then dressed in something appropriate for the weather, so now he was set, that was until there was a knock at the door, 'Who could this be, at 9AM' Luke thought, then when he opened the door he got a surprise, "Hey Luke, mind if I come in?" Michael said, "No, not at all" Luke answered, confused to as why Michael was here and especially this early, as he closed the door. "So, Michael what are you doing here?" Luke asked, "I was in the area so I thought I'd drop in, I thought you might like some company?" Michael said, "Oh, ok, I guess I could do with some company" Luke said, taking his jacket off and placing it back on his bed. Michael made himself comfortable on the sofa as Luke walked into the room, "Can we play some FIFA?" Michael asked looking at Luke's Playstation 3 in the corner and the FIFA box next to it, "I guess so" Luke replied, "I'll have to plug it in and stuff first" Luke said, "No bother" Michael said. Once Luke had plugged his PS3 into his TV, the 2 lads spent best part of 5 hours playing FIFA and just generally wasting time. "Oh, Michael, It's not that your dull or anything but I've got to go out" Luke announced just as one of their matches on FIFA finished, "Oh, no problem, you could have just said that when I turned up this morning" Michael replied, "Well, I could of, but I've enjoyed the company, it does get kinda lonely living by myself" Luke said as the lads grabbed their jackets and wandered out of the flat, into the rain. 

Once down onto the street, Luke and Michael said there goodbye's and headed in their separate directions, yes , Luke was annoyed about Michael turning up at his flat but it was mostly the timing of it rather than him actually being there. Luke walked quickly over to the park, to the spot where him and Calum had been talking the night before, at first Luke thought he could see Calum underneath one of the tree's just around the corner from the bench they had been sitting on, but when he got closer he realized that it was someone else. Luke spent the next hour looking around the park hoping to find Calum, but to no avail, Luke hoped that he'd left and found somewhere warm and dry to stay. After another quick 5 minute look around, Luke did the only sensible thing and headed back to his flat. 

For the next month Luke hardly had time to stop and think, his Uni course was intense, he was spending most of his days off either in the Library or the Practice room. He had been paired up with Michael to create a 3 minute piece of music that would be assessed and while working on this he had to be working on the first draft of his midyear report which was due in on October 30th. Luke was fortunate to only be taking one course which allowed him to take days off, which was helpful when he was behind schedule on his report, having a Wednesday off in the end probably saved his first draft, because the 29th was a Wednesday, so all Luke did was write, he continued into the early hours and finally finished at around 2AM. Luke met up with Michael the next morning before they were due to hand in their reports, it was at this point that Michael asked Luke to a Halloween party that he'd been invited to by his flat mates, it wasn't really Luke's type of thing but after the week he'd had, he accepted.

Luke had all of Friday to find himself a fancy dress outfit for his Halloween party tonight, that might not seem that hard but on the day of Halloween, nowhere had anything in Luke's size, so after looking for most of the morning he decided just to go as himself. That night Luke set out on his way to the Halloween party, he was heading for a area he didn't know, but it was within walking distance so he didn't bother getting a Taxi, even though it was freezing outside, just like it had been all week. Luke kept a check on his route using his phone, which told him it was a 25 minute walk to where he needed to be, but it wasn't anticipating Luke walking as quickly as he did and he was there in just 15.

When Luke approached the front door he noticed that it was open, so he pushed it and walked in and felt immediately out of place because everyone else was in Halloween costumes. "Hey Luke" Someone shouted from somewhere, then Luke saw Michael coming towards him through the crowd, "Saw the hair and knew it had to be you. So, you'll have to explain this costume?" Michael said looking at Luke dressed in his normal clothes, "It's called the 'no one had any costumes left' look" Luke replied, "Ah, I take some of the blame for not asking you until the last minute" Michael said, "But anyways come this way I've got loads of people to introduce you to" Michael continued grabbing Luke's arm and dragging him towards the back of the house. Luke was useless at remembering names at the best of times, but at the rate Michael was going through people, he had no hope of remembering anyone. All Luke remembered by the end was that the person Michael wanted him to meet the most had left, his name was Ashton and he played drums and Michael thought he would be good to work with on their music project, Luke only remembered all of this because Michael hardly shut up about it, clearly after a few drinks Michael gets quite talkative. 

Luke spent the next couple of hours talking to random people, mainly the ones Michael was talking to, but it reached the point where Michael couldn't really talk anymore and needed to be taken home. At first Luke thought that he could just walk Michael back to his flat but after the first 20 steps took 10 minutes, which was a mixture of the icy group and Michaels current state, he decided a Taxi would be a better idea. They had to wait around 20 minutes for a Taxi but Luke didn't mind, he rather wait for a taxi then try and walk Michael back to his flat. The taxi dropped both of them off just outside Michaels accommodation and once Luke had paid the driver they made their way up to Michaels flat, where, fortunately there was somebody in, so Luke could let him go knowing he wasn't going to collapse on the floor or anything. Once Michael was safely back, Luke began his own journey home, he didn't have a problem with the ice on the ground because he'd only had 1 drink and was pretty steady footed. 

Luke's walk home was very uneventful, since it was 11:15PM everyone was back inside and Luke didn't pass a single person all the way back, that was until he was nearly at his flat and he saw someone bundled up, against a wall just a few feet away from his flats steps, Luke instantly knew who it was, "Hey Calum" Luke said crouching down in front of him, but he got no reply, so Luke looked at his face and saw his eyes were open, "Hey Calum" he said again, but still got no reply, "Calum?" Luke said inquisitively, "Fuck Off Luke" Calum replied, "Wow, that's a bit strong, I just said hi" Luke said looking shocked, "Just Fuck Off" Calum said again, "Hey, Calum, Have I done something I don't know about?" Luke asked, "You mean like ask me to wait for you in the rain and then don't show up" Calum replied, "I did show up" Luke said, "ok, maybe it wasn't until later in the day but I didn't say what time I would be back" Luke continued, "Anyway you weren't even there" Luke concluded, "How long did you think I was going to sit in the rain and wait for?" Calum said, "I just thought you'd stay until I got there" Luke replied, "I sat for ages in the rain waiting for you to come back, thinking how much you must have enjoyed my company if you wanted to come back and then after hours you didn't even show up, do you know what it feels like when people don't come back?" Calum said getting slightly emotional, "Oh, sorry, I just got distracted, but I came as soon as I could" Luke said, "You just don't get it, I'm off" Calum said lifting himself up and grabbing the sheet of cardboard he'd been sat on, "Look, Calum, Wait" Luke said grabbing Calum by the arm, "Get off" Calum said swinging his arm, dropping the cardboard he'd just picked up, until Luke lost his grip, "Calum" Luke said moving in front of him and stopping him from walking away, "What happened to your eye?" Luke asked noticing Calum had a black eye and some bruising around his cheek, "Nothing" Calum grunted as he tried to push past Luke but didn't have the strength to do so, "Calum, tell me what happened to your eye?" Luke said with a raised voice but he got no reply from Calum as he was still trying to push past him, "CALUM" Luke shouted as Calum pushed for one final time and Luke's foot slipped on the ice and he fell back onto the road, landing awkwardly on his ankle, "AH, SHIT" Luke yelled as he landed and instantly grabbed a hold of his ankle, looking up he saw Calum standing motionless looking at him lying on the ground, "Jesus Christ Calum, you need to calm down" Luke yelled as he struggled to get himself up off the road, "Look, Luke, I'm sorry but you wouldn't move" Calum said as he grabbed Luke's hand and pulled him up, "I just wanted to help and now look what's happened" Luke said, "Why don't you just tell me what happened?" Luke asked, "Alright" Calum said reluctantly, "But you should sit down" Calum asked pointing over to the spot he'd just gotten up from, "We can sit but not there" Luke said, leaving Calum with a confused look on his face, "We're going to sit inside, it's too cold for this and I need some ice for my ankle and I'm not scraping it up off the road" Luke said, "No way Luke, I'm not going in some strangers house or some shop" Calum replied backing away from Luke, "Calum, I need to get some ice on this thing and I have some in my Flat, which is just up those stairs, but I don't think I can make it up there by myself because they'll be icy as hell and I'm not sure how much weight I can put on this foot, Once I've gotten some ice on this I want to know what's wrong with you, now are you coming or not?" Luke asked, "I'll help you up there but I'm not coming in, I don't like going into people's houses" Calum said, "Ok, Just get me up there and we'll talk about this again" Luke said as Calum placed Luke's arm around his shoulder and took the strain off his foot allowing Luke to hop towards the stairs. Once at the foot of the stairs Calum took one step first allowing Luke to hop up onto the step before proceeding to the next one, about halfway up they stopped, "Just hold up, I need a break" Luke said, "But, we just walked like no distance" Calum replied, "You're not the one hopping here" Luke said looking at Calum, before he began to cough, "Oh, yeah, I know, the smell is revolting, but what do you expect me to do about it, I live on the street" Calum said listening to Luke's coughs get worse the longer they stood still, "I don't know why you would say that, It's not you I'm coughing at, I think I just swallowed a bug or something, come on let's move" Luke said catching his breath as the 2 of them started moving up the stairs again.

When they reached the top Luke reached into his pocket and pulled out the key for the front door, at the same time managing to drop his phone from his pocket, "Oh Shit" Luke moaned, "Just get on with opening the door and I'll get it" Calum said reaching down and picking the phone up as Luke managed to get the front door open, before hopping inside and turning around to see Calum waiting outside, "Here you go" Calum said handing over Luke's phone, "Come on Calum, Just come in, I need to get to the kitchen so I can get some ice, how do you think I'm going to do that?" Luke asked, "You can just hug the wall, I'm sure you'll be fine" Calum said as he started to back away, "Calum, come in, this is stupid, you've helped me this far, you might as well just come in and help me to get to the kitchen, then we can sit down and talk about you" Luke said staring into Calum's eyes, "I, I, I, Just…, no, um, don't want to" Calum mumbled, "Why not?" Luke asked looking confused as to why someone who was currently sleeping on the ground outside, where it was freezing, didn't want to come into his warm flat, "Look. Luke. It's a really kind offer and everything but, I don't deserve your Kindness, I mean, I've done a lot of things I'm not proud of over the past couple of years and you don't want that type of person in your Flat, I mean the only reason I'm stood here right now is because I pushed you off the curb and made you fall on your ankle. You seem like a genuinely nice guy, so you don't need me in your life, so it's best for both of us if I just leave now" Calum explained, letting out a sigh of relief afterwards as he began to descend the stairs, "CALUM" Luke shouted hopping out of his door onto the landing at the top of the stairs, to see Calum stopped half way down, "Come back, please" Luke said, "I really can't stand here much longer having this argument because this ankle is killing me but I need your help now, if your any kind of person you'll come back and help me" Luke shouted at Calum, hoping to get through to him, which on some level he must have as Calum turned around, "Ok, just to shut you up I'll help you" Calum said as he began to ascend the stairs once again.

After helping Luke back inside Calum left him against the wall and closed the front door, before helping him along the hallway to the room at the end, "Right, I need to be over there" Luke said pointing towards the fridge freezer in the corner as they walked into the room. Once there, Luke opened the freezer and pulled out a bag of ice before grabbing a hold of Calum's arm once again and pointing towards the sofa, so Calum obliged and they made their way across the room. Once at the sofa Calum twisted to allow Luke to sit down, which he did and then placed his foot up on the table and reached down an rested the bag of ice on it, before laying back and making himself comfortable, "Is that all you need, can I go now?" Calum asked, "I can't stop you but I'd like it if you'd stay for a little while so we can talk about you, since that is how this whole problem started" Luke replied. Calum stood for a moment looking hesitant, "Ok, only because it's my fault you're like you are, I'll stay for a bit" Calum said as a smile came across Luke's face, "Oh, 1 last thing, could you grab me a drink from the fridge, just a can of Fanta would be great?" Luke asked, "Ok" Calum said as he wandered back towards the fridge grabbing Luke's can and taking a quick look at what else there was in there, "If you want anything just grab it" Luke said noticing Calum's stair into the fridge, "Can I have a water?" Calum asked, "Yes, just get it, I said" Luke replied as Calum grabbed the bottle and closed the door before walking back over to Luke and handing him his can of Fanta, "You can sit down you know, you don't have to stand there awkwardly" Luke said, "are you sure?" Calum asked, "Of course, just make yourself comfortable" Luke answered as Calum slowly sat down on the sofa opposite Luke, "I'm sorry if I make a mess of the sofa, but I'm kind of filthy" Calum said as he leaned back, "It's not a problem, I could always just wash the covers, but I'm sure they'll be fine" Luke replied.

Luke watched Calum's face light up as he took so large gulps of water from the bottle he'd taken from the fridge, seeing that Calum looked happy made Luke feel happy, but he knew he needed to know why he'd acted like he did earlier, so he waited until he'd finished his water to ask. "So, Calum, About earlier?" Luke asked, "Oh, sorry, again for that" Calum replied, "Ok, apology accepted but I'm more interested in why you were acting like that, I mean you were never really one to want to talk the first 2 times I met you but you didn't go off it like you did before" Luke said, "It's a really long story and I don't want to bore you with it" Calum said, "Well I want to hear it, even if it takes all night, I want to hear it" Luke said looking Calum straight in the eyes to show that he meant that he said, "Ok, but like I said it's going to take a while because I'll have to explain basically my whole life to you" Calum said, "Well, just when you're ready" Luke replied.

Calum leaned forward on the sofa and began to tell his story, "Right, well, it all begins when I was 5 and living in New Zealand, I had only been in school for a little while when my parents decided to move to Scotland, it wasn't something I wanted to happen but I didn't really have a choice. We moved to Glasgow, which was nice enough, my Dad liked it more than my Mam because he was from Scotland, she was from New Zealand, but they both got good jobs and I kind of settled in, by the time I was 11 I actually enjoyed living there, school was great, I had loads of friends and being an only child I used to be spoilt rotten by my parents, so if I wanted it I usually got it, but that all changed when I was 13. One day I came home from school and no one was in the house, which wasn't that strange but when it got dark outside and no one was home yet I started to wonder what was going on, that was until the police knocked on the door and told me the news no child ever wants to hear, at that point I realized that they weren't coming home" Calum said, looking at Luke would sat looking shocked by the story Calum was telling him, "After that moment my life was never the same again, at first they tried to send me back to New Zealand to be with my family, but we only had a small family to start with and it turned out that there was no one left for me to go back to, so I ended up going into a care facility for orphaned children, which might not sound too bad but it was the worst thing in the world" Calum explained before Luke interrupted, "What happened to the house and stuff?" he asked, "The house was rented so it just went back to the landlord to find a new tenant, the stuff from inside the house was sold off and the money was used to cover funeral costs, as for savings, well, there were none, so in the space of 3 weeks I went from the child who had it all to the child with nothing. I was forced to move out of the area as there were no spaces at any of the care places near me, so I lost contact with my friends and I hated my new school, I mean the place itself was alright but the other kids were fucking awful to me and that was the same at my new home, I would often wake up to find my stuff missing or broken and nobody would do anything about it, basically my life went to shit and all the while all I had left of my parents was their wedding rings on a necklace, 13 years of my life and I don't even have a picture of them" Calum said swelling up as his eyes became watery, "You don't have to carry on Calum, you can stop" Luke said looking on as Calum became more and more distressed, "No, I'll get to the end, I've started now. So, anyway, I lived there until I was 16 and I'd finished school, then at the first chance I got I ran away, I made it back into the city and used what little money I had at the time to buy a train ticket to London, thinking Life down here would be better, but when I got here I found out just how it was going to be. For the first year and a half I lived in a homeless shelter for under 18's on and off, depending on what spaces they had, but since I turned 18 in January there just not interested anymore, because I'm not there problem, so since then I've lived in boxes, on park benches, in shop doorways and even a few nights in an underground car park, but that was short lived when the security guard found me. So to survive over the past few months I've given away pretty much everything I still had left, up to the point where all I had were my parents rings and the clothes you seen me in now, and the reason I was so angry earlier is because 2 nights ago while settling into a doorway a couple of streets from here I was jumped by to other homeless guys who took my parents rings and gave me this black eye when I tried to fight them off, but the black eye doesn't matter, I've had plenty of them and worse over the past 2 years, it's the rings that I'm bothered about. So there you have it, I was angry at you for something that has nothing to do with you, you just happened to be the first person to talk to me since it happened, so I took my anger out on you, for which I'm sorry again" Calum concluded. "Jesus Calum" Luke said looking shocked, "I don't know if I could have gone through all of that and still be here to talk about it, you’re a stronger person then me, no doubt" Luke muttered still shocked from the story he had just been told, "Yeah, well, I hate my life everyday and go to sleep some nights hoping that I don't wake up again, but when I do I just keep thinking that maybe, just maybe, today will be the day my life turns around, it's so stupid I know, I've been thinking that for 2 and a bit years now and life is actually worse now than it's ever been" Calum explained. "Calum, I have no idea what to say to you, that was nothing like the story I was expecting, it was so, so, much worse, I'm still shocked that one person's life could just change in a moment like that" Luke said, "I didn't think it could happen but it just goes to show we never know what life has in store for us. Anyway I've taken up enough of your time and water, I'm going to go, thanks for allowing me into your home" Calum said placing the empty water bottle on the table and standing up, "I'll see myself out you probably shouldn't get up" Calum said walking out of the room, "Hey, Calum wait, come back" Luke shouted just as he heard the Flat door open and then close again, leaving Luke thinking that maybe he should have said something earlier, but then he got a pleasant surprise when Calum walked back into the room, "What?" Calum said, "Oh, I thought you'd gone for a minute there when I heard the door" Luke said looking relived that Calum was still here, "Please, would you sit down again?" Luke asked, "I guess" Calum replied as he took up his seat opposite Luke again.

Luke sat up and moved himself forward on the sofa he was on, lowering his foot to the floor and moving the ice so it stayed where it was needed, "Look, Calum, whether you like it or not, you are now a part of my life, I feel as though I've known you for years and the thought of you sleeping outside in the ice makes me feel sick so if you would I want you to stay here?" Luke asked, "No, it's not going to happen" Calum replied, "Why, it's warm, comfortable, there's food, water and a toilet, what else would you want?" Luke asked, "Your right Luke, I'd love to have all of those things, but these, these are yours and you don't want someone like me in your house anyway, you have no idea what I could do" Calum explained, "I don't get what you mean, 'someone like you', because what I see is someone like me who had a bad break in life and needs to get his life back on track" Luke said, "That's nice of you to say Luke but if you knew me you wouldn't be saying those things. Now since you can't really stop me and I want to I'm going to leave. Thanks for the water" Calum said on his way out and the next thing Luke heard was the door slamming shut. Luke sat for a while thinking about what had just happened, at first he was annoyed that Calum had left but then he looked at it another way, he'd managed to get him to come inside and talk to him, so he must be doing something right. Luke decided since it was nearly 1 in the morning he best go to bed, but when he tried to stand he realized he couldn't put any weight on his foot, so just decided to sleep on the sofa, so grabbed the cover hanging over the back of his seat and curled up in the corner.


	4. These Streets

The next thing Luke remembered was a loud banging sound and opening his eyes to be blinded by the sunlight. He'd barley gotten his bearings when he heard the loud banging again, that was when he realized it was someone knocking at his door, "Who's awake this early on a Saturday" Luke muttered to himself, before grabbing his phone and realizing that it nearly midday, but before he could do anything there was another loud bang on his door, "Who is it?" Luke shouted, "It's Michael, are you ok in there?" he shouted back, "Yes, just come in, it don't think it's locked" Luke yelled back as he heard the door open and then close again and was soon joined in the room by Michael, "Hey, what happened to you?" Michael asked looking at Luke's swelled ankle, "Um, it's kind of a long story, but I tripped on the curb outside and twisted it" Luke explained, "Well, I think you should go and get it looked at, it's looks pretty bad" Michael said, "Your probably right, I can't put any weight on it. Would you mind calling a taxi, so I can get to the hospital?" Luke asked, "No problem, but I'm coming with you" Michael replied. 

It took about half an hour for the taxi to arrive and once it was outside Michael helped Luke down the stairs and across the sidewalk into the back. It was only a short 10 minute drive to the nearest A&E and once there the lads repeated the same routine but this time getting out of the taxi only to find the A&E department packed full with people, "Looks like we might be here a while" Michael said, "You got me here Michael there is no need for you to stay" Luke replied, "No Luke, you can barely walk and I have nothing better to do with my day so I'll sit with you" Michael explained, "Thanks Michael" Luke replied as Michael took a seat and Luke explained to the receptionist why he was there. Once Luke had explained what was wrong he was told the waiting time would be roughly 2 hours, which he then explained to Michael, who didn't seem bothered. Luke sat down and the lads got chatting about the Halloween party the night before, "I enjoyed it" Luke said, "I did as well, but I don't remember much about it after you came" Michael explained, "I didn't think you would" Luke laughed, "Oh, that’s why I came around this morning, my flat mates told me you got me back last night and I came around to thank you" Michael said, "It was no problem, I was going that way anyways" Luke replied, "Yeah, but they said you brought me up to my flat, not just to the building, now that wasn't on your route" Michael said, "Well I couldn't just leave you there, you'd have never been able to get back up the stairs by yourself" Luke replied, "You're probably right, but I wasn't the one who fell of the curb and wrecked my ankle" Michael said, "Hey, Look, it was icy and it wasn't really my fault" Luke replied, "How was it not your fault, you had too much to drink and fell over, just admit it?" Michael said, "That's not how it happened, I didn't lose my balance I just slipped on the ice" Luke explained, "So it was the ice's fault?" Michael asked, "Well, not really, but it's a long story, which I'll tell you but not until later" Luke answered, "Ok, fair enough" Michael replied as they both got comfortable in their chairs and prepared for the long wait until Luke got his foot looked at. 

After 1 hour and 40 minutes waiting at Nurse appeared at the door, "Luke Hemmings" she called out as Luke struggled to get up out of his chair, but was soon assisted by Michael and they made their way over to the door. Luke was in A&E for over 1 hour before it was explained to him what had happened to his ankle, luckily it was just a bad sprain and nothing to serious but he wouldn't be able to walk on it properly for at least a week, but he turned down the chance to have crutches to help him get around and decided there and then he was just going to stay in the flat for the next week, which luckily for him was a week off from Uni as the lecturers switched their attention to the 4th year students early term exams. Michael then helped Luke back out of A&E and they managed to grab a taxi from outside back to Luke's flat, where just like earlier Michael helped Luke to get from the curb back into his flat, where he helped him back onto the sofa, "What happened there?" Michael asked spotting the black stain on the opposite sofa to where Luke was sitting, which Luke knew Calum had left, but did he really want to tell Michael that, but in the end he saw no other alternative, "Well, that kind of fits into the same story as what happened to my ankle" Luke replied, "You're going to have to tell me how twisting your ankle and a stain on your sofa fit into the same story" Michael said, "Right, well get comfortable because it's a long story" Luke said as Michael sat down next to the stain but so he could look at Luke while he spoke, so then Luke began the story, from the very beginning when he first met Calum, outside the shop.

Michael was intrigued by the story Luke was telling him, he couldn't believe that he could be so nice to someone he'd only just. "So there you have it, then he just left last night and I fell asleep on here" Luke finished explaining. "So let me get this straight, you let a homeless guy, who you hardly knew and who had just pushed you over into the road into your flat at nearly midnight last night?" Michael asked, "Yeah, but you missed the part out where I couldn't have gotten up the stairs without his help part" Luke replied, "Well if he hadn't acted like a fucking moron when you asked him what was wrong he wouldn't have needed to help you up the stairs and we wouldn't have spent the best part of our Saturday in a hospital" Michael said, "I can't argue with that" Luke replied, "But I feel like I want to help him. Having met him a few times I know how much different he was last night to the times I've met him before and I'd like to find a way of getting those rings back for him" Luke concluded, "You're going to have to explain how you're going to do that when your confined to this flat for at least the next week" Michael said, "Well, I was hoping that a friend of mine might return a favor" Luke said "And what favor would that be in return of?" Michael asked, "The one where I managed to get you home" Luke replied, "If you think that I'm going around asking tramps questions you can think again" Michael said, "Michael, I don't asked much of people but I really need your help on this and I'll be in your debt for years to come" Luke said pulling out all of the stops by using his sad face to try and convince Michael to help, "Ok, Ok, I'll try, but I'm not promising anything" Michael said, "I best get started straight away then, pass me your phone" Michael said as Luke reached into his pocket and pulled his phone out before handing it over to Michael, "What do you want that for?" Luke asked, "So I can put my number in it. If you're going to be house bound for the next few days I want you to be able to call me if you need help with anything" Michael said typing his number into Luke's phone before ringing himself so he could get Luke's number, "There, now I can ring you as well" Michael said, "Thanks, Michael, you don't know how much you helping me means" Luke said, "Anyways I best be off, I'm sure I'll see you this week" Michael said as he walked out of the room, "Ok, See Ya" Luke shouted as the front door opened and then closed again.

After a few days Luke was being driven mad by not being able to go out of his flat, but he was starting to be able to put some weight on his foot so he knew it was only a matter of time until he was back up and able to go outside again. He'd taken up reading again now that he had some spare time and he was almost finished the complete collection of Harry potter books. He knew Michael was coming around on Thursday so they could get to work on their piece of music for University, but until then he had books and TV to keep him company. 

It was early on Thursday, about 10:30 when Michael showed up with his guitar at Luke's flat, "Hey Luke, I see you can walk again" Michael said as Luke opened the door to let him in, "Sort of, it's like baby steps though" Luke replied as he hobbled down the corridor behind Michael, "So, do you want to use the Living room or the spare room?" Luke asked, "Why don't we use your practice room, since it's full of music stuff anyway" Michael said, "Fine by me" Luke said as they walked into the room and started to set up a space for them to practice in, "I've had a few idea's" Michael said, "Oh, Me to" Luke replied picking up his guitar, "What about if we take turns showcasing our idea's and we can see what the other thinks" Luke said, "Sounds good to me" Michael said as he instantly started strumming his guitar, "But I get to go first" He said, "Just go with it" Luke said listening to Michaels idea. 

By the time they had decided on an idea and done some work on it, it was dark outside, "Wow, we spent a really long time working on that" Luke said, "I really didn't think it was that long" Michael said, "Do you want to get some Pizza's in and watch TV?" Luke asked, "I'd love to, but I said I'd meet up with one of my mates for a drink tonight, sorry, I'd ask you along but you're kind of stuck in here" Michael explained, "No problem, It does kinda suck being stuck In here, but at least I can walk again, even if it's just a little" Luke said, "Thanks for hanging today Michael, I'm sure you could have been doing other things" Luke muttered as Michael was packing his guitar up, "No problem Luke, I enjoy your company and I love playing music so I couldn't think of many better things to be doing with my time" Michael replied zipping his guitar case up and swinging it onto his back, "I best be off, Will you be ok getting yourself back to the living room?" Michael asked, "Well I got myself to the front door this morning so I guess I'll be ok" Luke answered, "Alright, I'll see myself out, catch you later" Michael said heading for the door, "Ok, see ya" Luke said as he heard the front door bang shut. For the rest of the night Luke did some reading, watched the TV and played some Playstation before going to bed.

The next morning Luke awoke to the sound of heavy rain on his roof, not a sound he enjoyed hearing but one that he'd gotten used to after living in the flat for 2 months. The morning started off normal enough, Luke just pottered about making himself some breakfast and watching some TV, then he decided that he needed some Milk, at first he thought about calling Michael to see if he was free but then he decided he would try going out by himself. On the way out Luke made sure to grab his waterproof coat off the rail and he headed out into the cold and wet November morning. It was a very slow walk to the shop for Luke, but he was in no hurry so he didn't mind, normally it would have only taken 5-10 minutes to get there but at the speed he could currently go it took nearly 20 minutes. When Luke eventually arrived at the shop he found it to be very busy and decided to get in and out as quickly as possible, but on his way around got distracted looking at all the sweets they had on offer and ended up buy at carrier bag full of chocolate, which he didn't really need. Once he'd grabbed the Milk, he took it all to the counter and paid for it, realizing there and then that his quick trip to get some milk had cost nearly £20. On his way back Luke began to struggle with the extra weight of his shopping putting pressure on his ankle and was forced to stop along the way on somebody's garden wall, but after resting his ankle for a few minutes he decided to carry on, but it only lasted for a short distance until he had to stop again. Luke still had about 10 minutes walk left if he didn't stop again but he now knew he'd taken on too much too soon and was pretty much stranded out in the pouring rain, 'Time for a Taxi' Luke thought to himself as he reached into his pocket for his phone, "Shit" he muttered to himself as he realized he hadn't picked it up off the table before he left, now he really was stuck. Luke tried walking again but only managed 6-7 steps before he had to stop and lean up against a wall to keep himself upright. Luke was then surprised when someone from behind spoke to him, "Hey Luke" the voice said as Luke turned to see Calum stood there absolutely drenched by the rain, "Hey Calum are you not cold?" Luke asked, "Yes, but there ain't a lot I can do about it" He answered, "Surely you can find some kind of cover?" Luke asked, "That's just where I was going but then I saw you, are you ok? You look like your struggling" Calum asked, "I decided to go to the shop and I think it's just too much for my ankle and now I can hardly walk on it" Luke explained, "Do you want some help getting back to your flat?" Calum asked, "If you don't mind" Luke replied, "Come on" Calum said placing himself underneath Luke's are for him to rest on and allowing him to hop the rest of the way back to his flat. 

Calum helped Luke right the way back to his front door, which is where Calum stopped and left Luke to go on by himself, "You know Calum you can come in" Luke said as he turned to see Calum still stood out in the rain, "I wouldn't want to disrupt your day, I'm sure your busy with, like, University stuff" Calum said, "I'm not, I've been off all week, it really wouldn't be disrupting my day, plus you did help me get back here so how about you come in out of the rain" Luke said, "Only if you really don't mind" Calum replied, "That's more like it, of course I don't" Luke said pushing the door open for Calum to walk past him, "Just go in" Luke said pointing up to the living room, "No, I'm going to help you get there, I'm not leaving you at the door" Calum said grabbing Luke's arm and helping him into the kitchen where he could put all of the stuff he'd bought away. Once he put all of the food away in the cupboard, Calum helped him over to the sofa where he sat down and carefully removed his shoe's, "You can sit you know, Calum" Luke said, "But I'm, like, all wet and stuff" Calum said, "It doesn't matter" Luke said, "Just sit down, it feels really awkward with you standing while I'm sitting" Luke explained, "Ok, I'm going to apologize now for the mess I'll leave" Calum said as he sat down where he had been the last time he was there. Luke placed his shoe's down the side of the sofa, out of the way so he didn't trip over them and while twisting back to get comfortable he noticed Calum's hands were bruised, "What happened to your hands?" Luke quickly asked, "Um, nothing" Calum hastily replied pulling his sleeves down over them, "Come on Calum, you know you can tell me" Luke said sensing that something had happened to Calum, "It's nothing really" Calum said looking nervous, "Calum, why are you getting defensive? I only want to know why your knuckles are bruised" Luke said, "Really Luke it's nothing, I just tripped and landed on them" Calum quickly muttered, "Look, I'm no expert in falling but even I know how difficult it would be to fall on your knuckled, especially hard enough to do that. Why don't you just tell me?" Luke asked, "I'm just, well, it's, no, it's nothing" Calum murmured, "It's what?" Luke asked pressuring Calum to give him an answer, "OK, OK, STOP WITH THE QUESTIONS" Calum yelled and snapped at Luke, which caused Luke to recoil in shock, "Ok" Luke whispered seeing that he was starting to upset Calum. After a few minutes silence Luke decided to speak again, "Sorry Calum, I shouldn't have asked", "No, It's me who should be sorry, I shouldn't have shouted, I'm just going to leave" Calum said standing up, "No, you don't need to" Luke said, but just as Calum was leaving the room there was a loud knock at the door, causing him to stop dead, "Who is that?" Calum asked, "I have no idea" Luke replied, "Just sit down and I'll find out" Luke said pushing himself up from the sofa and stumbling towards the door, it took what seemed like forever for him to reach the door but he got there in the end. When he opened it he was greeted by a smiling Michael, "Hey Michael" Luke said, "Hey, just thought I'd drop by and see how you were" Michael said, "Mind if I come in, it's kind of wet out here?" Michael asked, "Oh, no, come in" Luke said as Michael skipped past him and walked down the hallway towards the living room, "Don't mind if I make a coffee, Do you? Michael asked "No, but just before you go in I've got to" was all Luke managed to say before Michael walked into the living room, "Oh, you've got company" Michael said, as Luke quickly stumbled up the corridor to catch up "Yeah, this is Calum" he said walking in the most awkward situation ever with everyone unsure what to do next and it was Michael who spoke first, "Hey, Luke, Can I speak with you, In private?" he asked, "Yeah, of course" Luke said, "Just go in the spare room" he continued as Michael wandered out of the room and back into the hall, "I should probably go now" Calum said again standing up, "No, no, I'll just be a minute with Michael, just wait here" Luke said, "Ok, but I just feel in the way" Calum said sitting back down, "You're not, just wait here, I'll be back in a minute" Luke said as he left to room to speak to Michael.

Luke walked into the spare room and pushed the door so it was almost closed, "Well that was awkward, why do you want to speak in private, your just making Calum feel like he's in the way?" Luke asked, "The reason I needed to speak to you in private is because I want to speak to you about Calum" Michael explained, "Oh, right, so it is awkward, are you sure I need to know what you're going to tell me, he did say he'd done some things he wasn't proud of and stuff but is it really any of my business" Luke mumbled quickly starting to get concerned about what Michael was about to tell him, "Calm down, it's nothing like that it's…." Michael said, "Thank god. What is it then?" Luke interrupted, "Well if you'd let me speak I'd tell you" Michael said laughing, "Oh, sorry, go on" Luke said, "Right. Do you remember the other day when you asked me to do that thing for you?" Michael asked, "Um, what thing?" Luke replied, "You know, the ring thing?" Michael whispered, "Oh, Yes, I remember" Luke replied, "Well, when I left here last night I was on my way to the bar where I was meeting my friend and I passed a guy who was trying to sell newspapers, I know what you're thinking" Michael explained, "What, Who sells newspapers at 9 at night?" Luke asked, "Yes, that's what I thought. So anyway, he asked me if I wanted one, which I obviously said no to, but when I said that he quickly asked if I wanted a genuine gold ring, which at first I just ignored but then it struck me, this could be the ring you were on about. So I asked to see it, at first I wasn't sure about what he was going to try and give me but when he pulled it out I saw it was on a chain with another one, but he only tried to sell me one. He wanted £30 for it, which I had on me but I asked him about the other one he had, which at first he played dumb about, but when I said I was only interested in buying both he quickly remembered that he had another one, which he produced, still attached to the chain, which had a letter C key ring on it, at that point I knew this was what you were after, now I just had to work out how to get it" Michael continued to explain as Luke looked on, "So did you?" Luke asked, "I'm getting there, Jesus, talk about impatient. Anyway he wanted £60 for the 2 rings, which I didn’t have on me, but after some bargaining and the offer of a coffee from the local shop, I managed to get not just the rings but the Chain as well" Michael concluded, "Wow, Michael, I don't know what to say, But" Luke said leaning over and giving Michael a hug, "You have no idea how happy this is going to make Calum. But you have to tell me how much you paid this guy, so I can give you the money back" Luke said, "No, it wasn't much and if it makes someone happy then I don't mind, so here" Michael said pulling 2 rings on a chain out of his pocket and handing them over to Luke, "Oh, this is going to just be amazing, come on lets go tell him" Luke said, clearly excited. Luke and Michael left the room as quick as Luke's feet could go, "Hey Calum, you'll never guess what Mic…" Luke stopped right there, "Calum?" Luke said, as Michael walked into the room, "Where is he?" Michael said, "I have no idea. Calum?" Luke called out, "Calum?" Michael then called out, "Luke Look" Michael said pointing to Luke's notepad on the table, where there was a message written, 'Sorry", Michael and Luke looked at each other, "He's gone" Michael said, "Looks like it" Luke said, as the smile that was on his face slowly faded away. 

Luke spent most of his weekend trying to work out what Calum had meant by the message he left, why was he sorry? He hadn't done anything. Luke was confused by the whole thing, he didn't understand why Calum had left or why he was so defensive about the bruises on his knuckles, but now Luke had 2 gold rings and a chain that he had nothing to do with, he was just going to have to hold onto them until he saw Calum again.


	5. It's Been A While

Monday came around and Luke was back at Uni, opting for the first week back to get a taxi in, as he wasn't sure how far he could walk on his foot, especially after last week. While at Uni him and Michael continued to work on their song, which was coming together nicely, but now they had their reports back and after they had been looked at by the lecturer there was a whole load of changes that they needed to make, which unfortunately meant they would have limited time to work on the song.

Time was flying past for Luke, it seemed like just yesterday he was getting ready for his first day of Uni and now it was nearing Christmas. With most of the revisions on his report complete and his and Michaels song sounding great Luke should have been enjoying life, but there, in the back of his mind all the time was Calum, who he hadn't seen in over a month. Some days, when he was free, Luke would go out and wander all the places he'd seen Calum hoping that he would be there again, because Luke knew how happy he would be if he got his parents rings back, one night Luke sat outside his flat on the wall across the street for hours just hoping that Calum would walk past, he wasn't bothered that it was freezing outside because it was more important to him to find Calum than it was to keep warm. As Christmas drew closer Luke would sometimes sit at a coffee shop for a few hours watching people walk past hoping that one of them would be Calum, but he wasn't in luck and after days of sitting and watching he still hadn't seen him. 

To keep Luke distracted from thinking about Calum, Michael tried to take every chance he had to get to work on their song, which was due to be completed on the 12th of December, which was the same day as their report had to be completed by and their last day of University before the Christmas break. By December 10th, Luke and Michael had finished their song and recorded it, there wasn't anything special about it as they had decided not to add lyrics, although Luke was trying hard to think of some to add, but failed to meet the deadline they had been set. That night Michael came over to Luke's to see how his report was going, but when he got there he got a shock when he opened the door, "Hey Luke, why are you packing?" He asked, "Oh, I'm going back to Australia" Luke replied, "What like forever?" Michael said looking worried, "No, Just over Christmas. My parents rang me today and said if I wanted they would pay for me to go back" Luke replied, "Oh. So when are you going?" Michael enquired, "Friday Night" Luke replied, "So when do you come back?" Michael asked, "7th January" Luke replied, "Ah, I was going to ask you to a party on Friday but there's no point now" Michael muttered, "Ah, sorry Michael, It's just they're going to be away over the summer so I can't go back to see them then, so if I don't go now I won't be going back for, like a year or something" Luke said, "I understand, it just makes my visit seem kind of pointless" Michael said smiling, "Oh, I see" Luke replied Laughing, "It doesn't have to be, come in, just go through and grab a seat, I'll be through in a few minutes" Luke said, as he grabbed a couple of things and threw them in a case.

Luke and Michael sat and talked about their upcoming music project reveal as well as their reports needing to be submitted on Friday, "So have you finished your report?" Luke asked, "Almost, it just needs the final parts put back together. How about you?" Michael asked back, "Mines finished, got it done last night" Luke said, "Are you happy with it?" Michael asked, "Yeah, I guess it could be better but it should be good enough" Luke replied "Do you want to play some FIFA?" Luke then asked, "Can do" Michael said as he grabbed to 2 controllers and threw one over to Luke. The lads wasted the next few hours messing about playing FIFA, before they were interrupted when the power went off, "Ummm, Luke?" Michael said staring into the darkness, "Yeah, Michael, Just hold on" Luke said before Michael saw Luke's phone light up on the table, "I can't see a thing" Michael said, "Yeah, I'll see if I've got a torch or something" Luke said as he used his phone as a light and wandered towards the kitchen where he rummaged through the cupboards and eventually came up with a box of candles, "Looks like we might be using candles" Luke said, "Romantic" Michael said as he and Luke both burst out laughing, "If you'd said I'd have brought Rose Petals" Michael added, fighting back his laughter as Luke placed the box on the table, "I'm sure there are some candle stands in this place" Luke said wandering out of the room, "Hey Luke, now I can't see again" Michael shouted, "Well get your phone out" Luke shouted back, causing Michael to think 'Why didn't I think of that', as Luke came back into the room with 2 candle stands, "Knew there were in here somewhere" Luke said as he placed 2 candles on the stands, "Um, Matches, there in here somewhere" Luke said as he returned to the kitchen and started pulling the place apart looking for matches, which he eventually found in the last draw he looked in. Luke returned to the table and lit the candles, giving the room a completely different look as only the area around the table was lit up, "So where is the Italian dinner to go with my candles Luke?" Michael asked, "Oh, I thought you would be bringing the food" Luke replied as the lads started laughing again. Michael then interrupted the laughter, "Oh Luke, It's nice to see you smile again, it's been so long", He said, "It's nice to have something to smile about" Luke replied, "What with that report, our music project there hasn't been much time for smiling" Luke concluded, "Come on Luke, that's not the real reason you haven't smiled, is it?" Michael asked, "No, you're right" Luke sighed, "Still not found him?" Michael said, "No, I've tried everywhere I can think of but still no" Luke replied, "You could just let go?" Michael said, "I know, but he's come into my life and when he's around I just feel so much better and I don't know why because he's so awkward, but I kind of like that, probably because I'm pretty awkward around people. If I didn't have these rings I would just let go, but for now I feel like I have to find him" Luke replied, "Fair enough" Michael replied. The 2 sat talking for the next hour until Michael decided to head back to his flat. "Hey Luke, looks like the whole street is out of power" Michael shouted as he descended the stairs from Luke's flat, "Good to know it's not just me" Luke replied, "Yeah. I'll see you tomorrow" Michael shouted from the foot of the stairs, "You sure will" Luke replied as he stepped back inside and locked the door, before going back into the living room and blowing the candles out and going to bed.

Luke arrived at University early the next day, hoping that he could get report finished before the rest of the class arrived, meaning he would have no distractions and when he arrived at the lecture room it looked like his luck was in, as he was the only person there apart from the lecturer. Luke wandered over to take his seat but was stopped half way by the lecturer asking him as question, "Why are you in today?" he asked, "I have lectures all day today and I wanted to get my report finished" Luke replied, "That's fine, if you want to stay but I did say on Tuesday that you could have today off to finish your reports" He said, "Oh.. I forgot" Luke said, "I thought you had. Your friend, the one with the green hair, he's already been in this morning, he forgot as well, I'm wondering if you are listening to anything I'm telling you" He said, "We listen, maybe, just not to everything" Luke said as he walked back towards the door, "Ok, but remember, Report by 11AM tomorrow and then were listening to your Music piece" He muttered, "Ok, I won't forget" Luke said as he left the room and started his walk back to his flat. Once back, Luke set to on his Report and by the late afternoon he'd finished it, dotted the I's and crossed the T's, now all he had to do was hand it in by 11 the next morning. Luke decided to spend his last night in the flat this year relaxing. After a quick shower he settled down to watch some TV, catching up on some of the shows he'd missed while working on his report and piece of music with Michael. Luke got so distracted by what he was watching that when he looked at the time it was gone midnight, this wasn't a great time to be going to sleep when he wanted to be up early in the morning, but, there wasn't a lot he could do about it now.

After a shorter night's sleep than planned, Luke was awoken by his alarm at 7AM. After taking a quick shower and grabbing some breakfast, Luke was out of his flat by 8:30, giving him plenty of time to meet up with Michael for a coffee before heading to University to hand their reports in. Michael was already at the coffee shop when Luke arrived, "Hey Luke, over here" Michael called out when Luke walked in, "Alright Michael, it's not like you to be early" Luke said taking a seat at the table Michael was sitting at, "I've been here since 7" Michael replied, "Jesus, did you actually go to sleep last night?" Luke asked, "For maybe 1 hour" Michael replied, "Why only 1 hour?" Luke asked, "Because I'm nervous as hell about this report, I think I've made mine worse since the first draft" Michael answered, "I'm sure you haven't, it'll be fine" Luke said reassuring Michael. The lads chatted for the next hour about random things before they walked over to Uni to hand in their reports, where, fortunately, the reports collection room was quiet, this saved them loads of time because they could fill in the forms about their report at their own pace with no one rushing them so they could have the pen, or the space to write in, like it was when they handed in their first draft. So part one of the day was over, now all they had to get through was there music assessment, Luke wasn't bothered about the music part of the assessment, it was the questions that himself and Michael would have to answer after their song had been listened to that Luke wasn't looking forward to, as he was useless at answering on the spot questions. 

The second part of Luke's day didn't start well, when himself and Michael were chosen last out of the class to go for their assessment, Luke wouldn't have normally minded but he just wanted to get back to his flat so he could grab his things and go to the airport as he was now excited about going home to see his family. After sitting around for best part of 2 hours and watching the room slowly empty, it was finally Michael and Luke's turn to have their music assessed. The assessment lasted for around 25 minutes, firstly they sat and listened to their piece of music with the 2 assessors and then they were asked a series of questions about it, fortunately for Luke, Michael liked to talk about his music a lot, so it distracted from Luke being useless at answering the questions that they were being asked. At the end of their assessment they were told that they would find out the results of their work after the Christmas period when they returned in January. So that was it, they were now free to leave for their Christmas holidays, Luke could see that his excitement was equally matched by Michael's as they made their way off campus, "So what are you up to over Christmas?" Luke asked, "I'm going to see family just outside of London" Michael replied, "Oh, Like, close family?" Luke enquired, "Yep, Parents" Michael said, "Oh, I just assumed with you living nearly on Campus your family must have lived miles away" Luke said, "Nah, there close, but not close enough for me to still live at home, the commute would be a killer, something like 1 hour 45 each way, so I just moved into the Uni accommodation" Michael replied, "Makes sense I guess" Luke said, "So are you looking forward to going home?" Michael asked, "Sure am. I'm not really looking forward to the flights to get there but I guess I'm there for nearly a month after them so it's worth it, plus I get to see my family" Luke answered, "Yeah, Family is awesome" Michael said, "Anyways I best be off, I want to get back to the flat with plenty of time so I don't forget anything" Luke said, "Ok, I guess I'll see you when we're back In January" Michael said, "Well, I've been online to check our timetable and because of the exams we don't actually come back until the 9th of February" Luke said, "Wow, That’s awesome, so I guess I'll see you then" Michael said, "I guess, but I'm back on the 7th of January, so just text after that and If I'm free we can meet up or you could just come around" Luke said, "Ok, I might just do that, but, you best get going" Michael said, "Yeah, I'll see you are Christmas, have a good one" Luke said, "Thanks, you too" Michael replied as the lads split and went their separate ways.

Luke arrived back at his flat 2 hours before he had his taxi booked to take him to the airport, although he had nearly everything packed he just wanted to make the flat tidy before he left so that when he came back he had nothing to do but come in and unpack. Cleaning the place took longer than he ever imagined, 'how could I have made this much mess over 4 months' he thought to himself as he kept finding more rubbish. With 10 minutes to spare, Luke took all of the food that would go off out of the fridge and wander out the front and down the stairs to put it into the bin, that was when he noticed that his taxi was already there, "Shit" he muttered, 'Am I late' Luke thought, rushing back inside, but when he got there he saw that he still had 8 minutes, so it must just have been early. After checking that all of the windows were locked and everything was unplugged he closed the door to the living room, grabbed his case from the hall, left the flat, locked the front door and descended the stairs, where he jumped into his taxi and left the place behind for the next month.


	6. After Midnight

Rain. It was no surprise to Luke that it was raining when he got back, the image he'd had in his head for the whole time he'd been away was returning to London only to find it raining and sure enough it was and pretty heavily to, which wouldn't have been an issue if Luke had bothered to wear a jacket on his way back or pay the taxi driver before he got out of the taxi, so by the time he reached his front door he was drenched, then he couldn't find his key and while he was searching for it the gutter over his front door gave way and the water soaked him further, then he remembered his Key was in the front of his suitcase, so by the time Luke made it inside he was well and truly soaked and all he wanted was a nice hot shower. Luke dropped his Case by the front door and quickly realized that the Flat was freezing cold, he wandered to the boiler and noticed it was off, after all efforts to fix it failed he decided it must have been broken, he wasn't surprised, today just wasn't his day, looked like that hot shower was going to have to wait. 

Luckily for Luke his flight in was an early one so he was back at his flat before midday which gave him plenty of time to try and sort his problems out, as soon as he'd gotten his bearings he grabbed the phonebook and called out an engineer for his boiler, he was told someone would be with him about 3, so he decided to try and fix the gutter outside before the engineer came out. Once he'd started fixing the gutter he immediately regretted it, not only was he getting soaked by the water gushing out onto him but he managed to break even more of it while trying to fix the part above the door, it didn't take long for him to realize he needed to get someone out to fix that as well.

By the time the engineer turned up to fix the boiler, Luke had 3 Jackets on and about 4 pairs of socks just to try and keep warm, the fact he'd gone back out in the rain to try and fix the gutter didn't help as he was wetter than he had been when he made it in the first time. The diagnosis on the boiler wasn't positive at all, "I've got some bad news" the engineer said as he walked into the living room where Luke was sitting watching the TV, "Some parts have burnt out fairly recently, problem being that the boiler you have is an old one and the parts could take weeks to order and get here" he explained, "So what can I do until then?" Luke asked, worried he'd have to live in the Flat without heating or hot water, "You can either leave it and move in with a friend or something or I could fit you a new one" the engineer explained, "How much would it cost for a new one?" Luke asked, knowing he didn't have anywhere else he could stay, "I can come back later and install a new one for you for £1,700 total" the engineer explained, "Um…., how can I pay that?" Luke asked, he knew he didn't have that much money at the minute, "You can pay the call out charge of £60 and a deposit of £250 on the boiler when I come back then you can pay the rest in monthly payments, would you like me to do that?" he asked, Luke thought for a minute, he knew he needed it done so there was no other way around it, "Yeah, you can do that" Luke said, "Ok, I'll come back in an hour or so and install it for you" he said, Luke just nodded as he made his way out of the flat, Luke just thought he'd only been back a few hours and it had already cost him over £300. As he said he would the engineer was back within the hour and by the time it was dark Luke had heating and hot water, "I'll get all of the paperwork sent out to you about the monthly payments and the 2 years cover you get on the new boiler, apart from that I'm done" the engineer said, "Ok, well thanks for your help" Luke said as he followed him down the hall and locked the door behind him, immediately Luke put the heating on and went in the shower to warm himself up.

That night Luke fell asleep on the sofa while watching the TV, he was tired from his journey which had taken him over a day. By the time Luke woke up the next day he'd missed most of it as it was already 4 in the afternoon, so he spent it just sitting and catching up on all of the TV he'd missed, then by 10 he went back to bed. The next morning things we back to normal, Luke was up just after 8 and it was the rain on the roof that woke him, Some things never change he thought to himself as he wandered into the kitchen and grabbed some breakfast. 

Luke knew he needed to go out and get some food from the shops but he didn't much fancy walking along in this weather so he got himself ready and called a taxi, he knew he had to watch what he spending for a little while as his student loan didn't land in his bank for a couple of weeks and he'd just spent over £300 on a boiler with further payments still to come. It was a pretty uneventful trip out for Luke, he got there got what he needed and went home, it was unusual for him to go out and get back without something happening. He settled in for a quiet afternoon and watched some TV, then sometime in the afternoon he got a text message from Michael, 'Hey, hope you enjoyed going home for a while, not much happened while you were gone, I'm in Wales with the family for a couple of weeks so can't call around, it was a spur of the moment thing, I'll catch up with you when I get back' it said, 'It was great to see the family again, look forward to catching up, Enjoy Wales" Luke replied and that was the sum total of his day, he did nothing more than sit around and some TV and listen to some music for the rest of the day. 

For the next 2 weeks all Luke did was watch TV and Listen to music, apart from the odd visit to the shops he didn't have much need to go out and with the rain persisting it was nice to be able to stay in, he kind of wished he hadn't finished his Harry Potter books and left them in Australia as it would have given him something different to do. On a very rare dry Monday morning Luke decided to venture out to the shops to grab some food for the week, when he returned he found Michael sitting at the top of his stairs, "Alright Michael" Luke said surprising him as he was looking down at his Phone, "Hey Luke, how are things going?" Michael asked, "Can't complain, you?" Luke said, "Same. Do you want me to take one of those?" Michael asked looking at the bags Luke was carrying, "Sure, just while I open the door, thanks" Luke said handing him a bag and rummaging around in his pocket for his keys, which he soon found and let them both in. Luke took the bag back off Michael when they got inside and unpacked them in the Kitchen while Michael sat in the living room, "Coffee?" Luke asked while he was putting stuff in the cupboards, "Yeah, sure" Michael replied. Luke finished up in the kitchen, made coffees and made his way over to Michael and sat down opposite him, "So, how was Australia?" Michael asked as Luke handed him his coffee, "You know, hot, but I enjoyed it, it's the longest I've ever been away before so it was nice to go home, but in some ways it was nice to come back here" Luke replied, "It's always nice to go home" Michael replied, "How was Wales?" Luke asked, "Wet, even wetter than it has been here if you can believe it" Michael said, "Where were you staying?" Luke asked, "In a cottage in the middle of nowhere, the internet signal was shit and the weather was even worse" Michael replied, "So you didn't enjoy it?" Luke asked, "It's not something I'd do with my family again, but I had the chance to go so I thought I might as well. Are you going back out to Australia again anytime soon?" Michael then asked, "Not this year, my parents are on holiday in the summer so I won't be going back then and I can't see me going back again next winter so I'll be here for a while" Luke explained, "Christmas In London, it's something else" Michael said, "So I hear, I hope it snows" Luke replied, "You might get the snow sooner than you think, it's supposed to snow next week" Michael said, "What, like a lot?" Luke asked, "Yeah, could be the worst for years" Michael said, "Your joking aren't you?" Luke asked, "No, seriously, have a look at the long range weather forecasts, it's there to see" Michael replied, so Luke grabbed his phone off the table and checked the weather, sure enough come the weekend it was forecast for snow which was set to last well into the next week, "Wow, I'm excited now" Luke said as a huge smile came across his face, "Have you never seen snow before?" Michael asked, "On the TV but not in real life" Luke replied, "It's not as good as you think" Michael said, "How do you mean?" Luke asked, "If we get a lot of it, you'll see" Michael replied. For the next few hours Michael and Luke talked about how their time off had been and how they were looking forward to going back to Uni, then Luke suggested ordering Pizza's in, an idea which Michael had no objections to.

By the time they'd finished off their Pizza's it was dark outside and Michael was on his way out, "Luke" he said as he grabbed his Coat off the sofa while Luke was in the Kitchen, "Yeah" Luke replied, "If you don't mind me asking, what is the little black box in the middle of the table, it's been puzzling me all night?" Michael asked, Luke finished up in the Kitchen and walked over, "I bought it for 1 specific reason" Luke said as he picked it up off the table and opened it, "Oh, right" Michael said as Luke pulled 2 rings on a chain out of it, "These are Calum's rings, which I'm sure you remember" Luke said, "Yeah, I do, what are you going to do with them?" Michael asked, "I'll hold onto them, if I see Calum again I'll give them to him if I can, he'd need to stay in the same place long enough or come back here, but I'm not going out looking for him" Luke explained, "Well I haven't seen him since you went away and I've been out a lot" Michael replied, "I'd like to think that he's found somewhere to stay, especially with the weather we've been having" Luke said, "I'd be more bothered about the weather we're going to get to be honest, when it snows it get really cold" Michael said, "Let's just hope he's ok" Luke said, Michael could tell that it bothered Luke that he couldn't do more to help, but he couldn't help him, he couldn't just magic up a solution, they'd just have to wait and see what happened. Michael headed home after they'd discussed the weather a bit more, leaving Luke excited that he was going to see snow for the first time while slightly sad because he could tell that Luke still felt bad about Calum even though he'd done all he could.

Luke spent the rest of the week watching TV, he'd missed a lot while he was away over Christmas, so by Friday he was almost caught up on everything, that's when he received a Text from Michael, "Going to a party tonight, you want to come?" the message asked, Luke thought for a minute, "Yeah sure, where's it at?" Luke replied, "Someone's house, I'll call round and get you on my way, about 7" Michael replied, "Ok, see you then" Luke replied, he was looking forward to going out, he hadn't done a lot of it lately. Sure enough Michael showed up just after 7 and they headed out, "Where exactly are we going?" Luke asked as they made it to the bottom of the stairs outside Luke's Flat, "It's some girl I know, it's here 19th and she asked me around and said to bring anyone if I wanted so I thought of you" Michael said, "Ok, thanks, I guess" Luke replied, "Think nothing of it" Michael said as they crossed the road and made their way through the park.

After walking for 20 minutes they arrived on a street and walked up to a house where Michael knocked on the door, after they was no reply Michael opened the door and walked in, as soon as the door was open all Luke could see was people, people everywhere, but they were drowned out by the loud music blasting out of the front door as he followed Michael in. Once inside he followed Michael around until Michael found who Luke assumed was the host of this party, "Luke this is……" Michael said, Luke missed the girls name because of the music so he just waved awkwardly and smiled and she did the same, then he followed Michael to the table at the back where all of the drinks were and grabbed a beer, "Just mingle Luke" Michael said as he wandered off into the crowd, Luke would have loved to mingle but he's the first to admit he's socially awkward, so he just stood by the drinks and looked around. Eventually someone came and talked to Luke, he was shorter than Luke but had much longer hair, "How you doing?" he asked, at first Luke didn't think he was talking to him until he looked at him, "Oh….., Sorry….., I'm ok, what about you?" Luke replied, "I'm good. This is going to sound strange but you haven't seen someone with bright green hair have you?" the guy asked, "Strangely enough I have, you are looking for Michael aren't you?" Luke asked, "Yes, do you know him?" the guy asked, "Yeah, I go to Uni with him" Luke replied, "You aren't Luke are you?" the guy asked, "I am" Luke replied, "Oh, right, Hi, I'm Ashton" the guy replied, "Oh…., finally we meet" Luke said as they shook hands, "Yeah, Michael's been going on about me getting to know you for a while" Ashton said, "Yep. He was going to introduce us at a Halloween party I went to but he couldn't find you" Luke said, "Yeah, I left early, parties aren't really my thing" Ashton said, "No, not really for me either but I had nothing on Tonight" Luke said, "Same here. So, do you have any idea where Michael Is?" Ashton asked, "He went Into the kitchen about 10 minutes ago" Luke said, "Right, I'll see if I can find him" Ashton said, "Mind if I tag along?" Luke asked, "Not at all, you’re the only person that's talked to me all night" Ashton said, "Same here" Luke replied as they slowly made their way through the crowd and towards the Kitchen. 

After searching for a while Luke and Ashton eventually found Michael, his hair kind of gave away where he was, "Ash, nice to see you made it, there is someone I'd….." Michael stopped when he spotted Luke standing behind him, "I guess you've met Luke" Michael said, "Yeah, we ran into each other by the drinks" Ashton replied, raising his voice as they were right next to the speakers that were blasting the music out, "Good, you 2 will get along well" Michael said, "Is that all you invited me here for?" Ashton asked, "Mainly, but you should go and mingle" Michael replied, "That's his word of the night" Luke said and Ashton laughed, "He uses it all the time when we go out, it's his way of saying 'go away' politely" Ashton said and Luke laughed back, "Ok, we'll go and 'Mingle' Ashton said as he and Luke wandered off.

By Midnight the Party was starting to wind down, Ashton and Luke had spent the night walking around talking to different groups of people and quickly realizing that no one was really interested in them, so they stepped outside and waited for Michael to come out, "What was up with them in there?" Luke asked as they sat down on the curb outside, "I've no idea, they didn't really seem to like us" Ashton replied as they watched people trickle out and wander off in various directions, "Where do you think he is?" Luke asked, "I've no idea, I say we give him 5 minutes and then we go back in" Ashton replied, Luke nodded in agreement as someone stumbled into them from behind, they got no apology because the girl probably didn't know she'd done it, "I don't even think she knows where she is" Luke muttered, "Hope she's ok walking home" Ashton said as they sat and watched here stumble down the street before she approached a door at the bottom house and fell inside, since she didn't come back out they assumed that must be where she lived, "Should we go and find Michael?" Ashton asked, "Yeah, it's been long enough" Luke replied. Slowly they made their way back inside, although a lot of people had left there was still a fair amount left and getting inside wasn't very easy. When they finally got inside they quickly spotted Michael lying flat out on the Sofa, "Ha-ha, this looks fun" Ashton muttered as they looked at Michael, both thinking the same thing, "How are we going to get him home?" Luke eventually said, "Looks like we might have to carry him" Ashton replied, "Great" Luke said sarcastically as Ashton nudged Michaels shoulder and tried to wake him up but to no avail. Eventually while Luke and Ashton were in the process of trying to lift him up Michael woke up, "WOOOOOO PARTY" He shouted as he tried to escape their grip but neither of them was willing to let him go, "Not anymore" Ashton replied, "Why?" Michael asked, "Parties over" Luke replied, "Yeah, b… b…. but we…. can go on…. to…. somewhere else" Michael mumbled, struggling to form full sentences, "I don't think you're in a good enough state to go on anywhere else" Luke replied, "Michael Clifford go…… goes where Michael…… Michael Clifford w….. wants….. to go….. Let's hit the….. the town" Michael muttered, "Look Michael, if we let you go the only place you'll be hitting is the floor, then maybe A&E" Ashton said, "Lies…. Lies…. Full o…. of lies" Michael said, "Come on Luke, let's get him home" Ashton said as they dragged him outside and off back towards his Uni flat. 

What should have only taken 20 minutes took nearly an hour and it was after 1 when they got Michael back to his Flat, his Flat mates didn't look to impressed that they'd been woken up this late to help get him to his room because he was drunk, it wasn't the first time and it probably wouldn't be the last. Ashton and Luke left him in the capable hands of flat mates and headed back downstairs, "I think they were a little pissed off" Luke said as the reached to door out at the bottom, "Maybe just more than a little" Ashton replied as he held the door open for Luke who walked through, "So, which way do you go from here?" Luke asked, "Up here" Ashton replied pointing up the street in the opposite direction to Luke, "Well I'm this way" Luke replied, "Ok, guess I'll see you around" Ashton said as he began to walk up the road while Luke made his way down it, "Yeah, catch you later" Luke replied walking quickly, he wasn't so sure about the streets at this time of night. By the time Luke reached his Flat it was gone half past 1, this was the latest he'd been out in London before, it wasn't unpleasant he just didn't like the look of everyone he passed, so he quickly unlocked the door and locked it again behind him once he was inside, it didn't take long for him to fall asleep, unfortunately he never made it to bed as he was on the sofa. 

When Luke awoke he realized that he'd spent the night on the sofa, it wasn't the first time but he hoped it would be the last because his arm had gone numb from how he'd been sleeping on it. Once his arm was back up and working Luke decided to be productive and call someone about the guttering that had collapsed a couple of weeks ago, it didn't take long for him to find someone in the phone book, "Tiles, Roofs and Gutters Specialist" Luke mumbled to himself, "Sounds Good To Me" Luke muttered, He rang up and booked for them to come and have a look at it in the Afternoon, he was glad he could get it sorted, the step just outside the flat had become a death trap because the water and Luke had ended up falling more than a few times because of it.

Since Luke had come back from Australia all he'd seemed to do was spend money on fixing things, the gutter was a day's fix for the guy who came around and Luke agreed for him to call back on Monday to fix it at a cost of £350, it wasn't something Luke wanted to do but if he didn't get it fixed it could cause damage to the roof and end up costing him more in the future so it was logical to get it fixed now. To cover the cost Luke had to take the last of his money out of his bank account and use most of the money he'd been given at Christmas, leaving him with little cash until his next student loan payment came through, which he hoped would only be a few days away, until then he'd have to be careful with his money. 

After a quiet weekend the guy came around and fixed his guttering on Monday and was paid the agreed price for his work, Luke was pleased with the finished job but was still annoyed that he'd spent over £700 since he came back a few weeks ago and he still had well over £1000 left to pay on his boiler, payments which would soon start coming out of his bank, which at the moment was empty. Luke settled in for a quiet night, which was quickly interrupted by a text message from Michael, 'Going to a house party tonight, need a friend, up for it?' the message said, Luke thought about it but he knew he'd end up spending money if he went out so he politely declined, 'Sorry, can't, watching what I spend' Luke replied, it didn't take long for a message to come back from Michael, 'Come on Luke, really need someone to come with me' it said, 'Really sorry but I can't' Luke replied and waited for another message from Michael but it never came so he settled back down and turned the TV on.

Just over an hour after the last message from Michael there was a knock on Luke's door, "Hey Luke" Michael said as Luke opened the door and Michael walked in, "Hey Michael, what are you doing here, I thought…." Luke said as Ashton appeared at the door, "Hey Luke" he said just standing at the top of the stairs as Michael disappeared into the living room, "You can come in" Luke said, "Oh, thanks" Ashton replied as he stepped in and took his shoe's off, "You don't need to bother with that" Luke said as he closed the door then walked down into the living room, followed by Ashton, where they found Michael already sitting down on the Sofa, "Aren't you supposed to be going to a house party tonight?" Luke asked, confused as to what was going on, "Well…., Yes, but we thought we'd call around and get you first" Michael replied, "I said I couldn't go……., and you said you didn't have anyone to go with, if that's the case why is Ashton here?" Luke asked, "Well….., Ash didn't want to go but then he did, so…., I thought if he changed his mind then you might to" Michael replied, "Michael I just paid £350 this afternoon for someone to come and fix the guttering and the roof of this place, I don't have the cash to go out" Luke replied, "It's a house party, they don't cost anything" Michael said, "That's until I have to get a taxi back when you're so drunk you can't stand, I don't want to be spending money on unnecessary things like that" Luke replied sitting down opposite Michael, "You don't have to, Ash brought his car so he could just give you a lift back here" Michael said, "Michael, I'm leaving the Car here, we're walking the rest of the way, I'm not a taxi service" Ashton said, "Exactly, I wouldn't expect Ashton to give me a lift to anywhere" Luke said, "Just come with us, we'll only be a few hours and it'll get you out of this place" Michael said, "The walk will do you good as well" he added, Luke thought about it, it would be nice to get out of the Flat for a little while, "……Ok, but I'm not staying out until the early hours again" Luke said, "Excellent" Michael replied as Luke went to change into some nicer clothes for going out. 

Once they'd left the Flat Luke assumed they were going to the same place as they had been the other night, simply off the direction they were walking in, but then they took some turns and walked down some different streets, "Michael, where exactly are we going?" Luke asked, "It's just a friend's house, it's not far" Michael said as they made their way through a park Luke didn't even know existed, "Do you know where we are going?" Luke turned to Ashton and asked, "It's one of Michael's old School friends house I think, I've never met him before but I know some of the people going" Ashton replied, "Oh, ok, I just wondered" Luke said as they crossed a road and headed into a housing estate. 

They soon arrived in a new housing development Luke had passed when he first came to London on the Taxi ride to his flat, the houses were massive, the small ones had 5 bedrooms and it looked very expensive, "This place looks nice" Luke muttered as they approached a house, "It's really nice isn't it, I wish I could afford to live here" Ashton replied as Michael led them up some steps to a house with a huge front door, "I'm glad we are getting inside, it's freezing out here" Luke said, "It's gonna snow, apparently, but then again it was supposed to snow over the weekend" Ashton said as they followed Michael inside. It didn't take long for Michael to disappear into the crowd so Luke hung with Ashton and they headed over to the drinks table, "This place is massive" Luke muttered as they wandered through 2 rooms and into the kitchen, "Yeah, I think the kid's parents own some food company, they certainly aren't struggling for money" Ashton said as he looked around for some drinks, "I bet you £10 someone tries to swing from that chandelier by the end of the night" Luke said, "You're on, it's way too high for anyone to get to" Ashton replied, as he handed Luke a beer from next to the fridge.

For the next few hours Luke and Ashton jumped from group to group talking to people Ashton recognized which was a lot fewer than he thought he would know as most of the people that were there he'd never met before. With it nearing 11 people started to flitter away and the rooms became emptier, which was such a bad thing as there was now somewhere for Luke and Ashton to sit, "So Ashton, where are you from originally?" Luke asked as they found a space in one of the living rooms to sit down, "Originally I'm from Australia" Ashton replied, "No way" Luke said, surprised, he hadn't picked it up in his accent and he spoken to him for hours, "Yeah, it was a long time ago but that's where I'm from" Ashton said, "I'm guessing your from out there as well?" Ashton then asked, "The accent is a dead giveaway" Luke said, "Kind of, Yeah" Ashton said with a smile, "So what brought you over here?" Luke asked, "My Mum, she was going out with this guy who was in a band who were moving over here and he asked her and she said yes, I was only 4, so it really has been a long time, like 16 years" Ashton said, "Oh, so your 20?" Luke asked, "Yeah, it's not all it's made out to be, it's just like being 18 but you have to get a job and shit like that" Ashton replied, "Oh, I'll look forward to it" Luke said, "So how do you know Michael then if you're older than him by like, what…, 2 years?" Luke asked, "Well, when I moved over here I……" Ashton was interrupted by shouting coming from in the other room, "What's going on in there?" Luke asked as they both stood up and walked through into the room leading onto the kitchen, "Oh no" Ashton muttered as he saw Michael climbing the railings on the stairs and leaning over to the chandelier, "I think that's £10 Ash" Luke said as Ashton reached in his pocket and pulled out a £10 note, "Here, I'm more worried that we are going to end up cleaning the mess up that's he's made" Ashton said as he handed Luke the note he'd pulled from his pocket as they both watched Michael jump from the stairs onto the Chandelier and sit himself on the middle of it, "What the Fuck is he doing" Ashton muttered as he began to swing wildly from side to side, "I feel like I know how this is going to end" Luke said as Michael began shouting about his enjoyment, "I'm just waiting for it" Ashton replied and then, the inevitable, the Chandelier snapped from its chain holding it to the roof and came crashing down to the ground, Michael still on top, when it hit the ground glass scattered everywhere from the broken bulbs and smashed designs, Silence descended on the whole house as people began slipping away and out of the front door, "Guess the party is over" Luke mumbled and Ashton nodded in agreement. Luke and Ashton helped Michael up off the floor where he had fallen when the Chandelier had come crashing down, "How cool was that?" Michael asked, Luke just rolled his eyes, he was getting used to these drunk nights with Michael, "Yeah, amazing, for sure" Luke muttered in reply as they placed Michael on the sofa in the living room. Ashton went and found the guy who's party it was, who was stood in disbelief and explained that Michael would be back tomorrow to help him clean up the mess and he'd be paying towards the repair bill as well, even though he didn't know it yet, then they grabbed Michael and began the walk home. 

When Luke stepped outside to help Michael down the steps he quickly realized it was snowing and had been for some time as the ground was white, "Yeah…., Snow" Luke mumbled in amazement as he looked down the street, "Yeah, that's great but do you think you could give me a hand?" Ashton asked as he carried Michael outside, "Did he have a jacket?" Luke asked, "I can't remember but he's coming back tomorrow anyway. It is absolutely freezing out here though" Ashton replied as they both grabbed an arm and help Michael to the curbside, "My phone says it's below zero" Luke said as stumbled to the curb. It took a while to get Michael moving and by the time they got out of the street it was gone Midnight, "He's such a weight when he's like this" Ashton said as he dragged Michael along while Luke kept the other side upright, "I knew what would happen, I don't know why he comes to these things, he can never remember them the next day" Luke replied. After a short walk they entered a park that Luke remembered from the walk over, "This place is so nice" Luke muttered, "Yeah, it's where you'd live if you could" Ashton replied as he spotted a shop that was open 24 hours, "Can we stop over there?" Ashton asked, "Yeah sure. Drop me and Michael on that bench by the gates while you go in" Luke replied and helped Ashton get Michael to the bench where they dropped him, then Luke sat down next to him while Ashton went in. Luke sat for what seemed like ages just watching the traffic rumble past and the people walk or stumble past, depending on how much they'd had to drink, then he noticed a guy dressed all in black rummaging through the bins in the park, he hoped that the guy didn't come over as there was a bin right next to him, luckily Ashton soon reappeared from the shop with 2 bottles of water, "Here" he said handing one to Luke, "Thanks" Luke replied as he opened it and drank it in 1 go, then threw it in the bin, as he did the guy going through the bins wandered over towards him, "Come on" Luke said as he helped Michael up from the bench and allowed Ashton to grab the other arm, "Come on Michael, not far to go now" Ashton said as he and Luke began to walk towards Luke's flat again, then Luke heard a cough coming from behind that he recognized, when he turned around there was no one there but the guy searching the bin where he and Ashton had just been, he turned back and thought nothing of it, but a few seconds later he heard it again, turned and again only saw the one guy, then he figured out where he knew the cough from, "Ashton can you hold him for a minute" Luke said as he looked across at Ashton, "Yeah sure not a problem" Ashton replied as Luke slipped himself from under Michael's arm and left Ashton as the sole support as he made his way back down the path and over to the bench he'd just been sat at and walked up behind the guy who was still rummaging through the bins, then waited a few seconds just to convince himself, "Calum?" He mumbled inquisitively and the guy suddenly stopped what he was doing.


	7. Close As Strangers

It had been a long and hard 8 months but finally Luke was ready to hand in his finished assignment, he'd been working on it for over 2 months and finally after adding the 11,567th word last night he was happy with it, all he had to do was take it in and sent it off. Luke had planned to meet up with Michael by the front of the campus, with only 2 days left before the deadline they had both completed their work at the same time so it made sense that they handed it in at the same time. Luke was nervous about his work, he knew that if he messed this up he would have to take the year again, something he really didn't want to do, he knew Michael was nervous as well even though from what he'd seen of Michael's work he knew he'd have no problem passing the year.

Luke made his way towards the University for the final time until he'd have to go to collect his results in the summer, but now it was a sunny spring morning, much different from the snowy ending to winter they had experienced. As Luke approached the front gates he spotted Michael sitting on the wall, the hair color was different but it was 100% Michael, "How we doing Michael" Luke said, surprising Michael who was looking at his phone and paying little attention to what was going on around him, "Oh, hey Luke, I'm good, nervous but good, you?" Michael asked, "Same, I just want to get rid of this" Luke said holding up the envelope that had his assignment in, "Yeah, same here" Michael said as he held up a similar envelope, "Come on, let's get rid of them" Luke said as Michael jumped down off the wall and they made their way down the path and then inside. They made their way down to the office where they had to hand their work in, the process was on they had done a few times before but none of them were as important as this one. They made their way inside and signed all of the accompanying forms that came along with handing any piece of work in, then they were free, until August 3rd when they could collect their results or view them online, "Well, that's it" Michael said as they made their way back up the corridor towards the doors, "Yeah, 8 months of work all comes down to this" Luke said, "Well, that and all the work we did before Christmas" Michael said, "I know, I can't believe that they kept our results back so we don't get any until August" Luke said as he pushed the door open and they stepped outside, "It kinda feels like were free" Michael said, "Yeah, it's great isn't it" Luke replied, "Come on, let's go grab a Coffee" Michael said, "A Coffee, I thought you of wanted a beer" Luke said, "I would, but it's 9:30, so nowhere will be open and I'm moving my stuff over to the new flat this afternoon, so I'd rather not be drunk for that" Michael said, "Ok, fair point" Luke said as they began to walk over towards the Café that was just outside the front of the campus.

Michael grabbed a table while Luke grabbed the Coffee's, it was surprisingly busy for the time of year, especially considering that it was warm and sunny outside, "Here you go" Luke said as he placed Michael's drink down in front of him and sat down opposite, "Thanks" Michael said, "So, what have you got planned for the summer?" Luke asked, "Not much, I just want to get into the new flat first, then see what there is in the way of Jobs around there" Michael said, "It's pretty far out, what's the commute like for next year?" Luke asked, "I'm just gonna start using the underground, it's a 5 minute walk to the nearest station then a 25 minute ride and that brings me up at the station just up from you" Michael explained, "That's not bad" Luke replied, "It's handy that Ash was looking for somewhere as well, saves me having to rent somewhere by myself" Michael said, "Right next to his job as well, it's all worked out well, so you'll be set for next year with plenty of time to spare" Luke said, "Yeah, so, what about you?" Michael asked, "I've got a couple of interviews for part time jobs lined up, just late nights and Saturdays really" Luke said, "It's tough because you need to make sure it's not gonna clash with your Uni work next year" Michael said, "Yeah, I'm not looking forward to next year and I don't even know if I'll be doing the first year again or the second one" Luke said as he took a sip from his cup, "Don't be negative like that, of course you'll be doing the second year" Michael said, "Well, we'll just have to wait and see" Luke replied. They sat for a while just watching the world pass them by, people watching was a favorite past time for Luke, "So, how are things with that girl you liked?" Luke asked, "I thought it was going ok, but it turns out it was never me she was after" Michael replied, "Friend zoned?" Luke asked, "Yeah, I'm getting use to it now, it's always been like that" Michael replied, "How do you mean?" Luke asked, "Well, I think a girl likes me but it's actually my friend she likes and she's just being nice to me so she can get close to them" Michael replied, "Well, don't worry about that with me" Luke said with a smile, "Anything with you then?" Michael asked, "Nothing, I don't think what I'm looking for exists" Luke replied, "What about, well, you know" Michael said, "Who? Calum?" Luke asked, "Yeah, I just didn't really want to bring it up" Michael said, "I just wish I knew what was going on in his head" Luke replied, "When was the last time you saw him?" Michael asked, "That night when we came back from that house party" Luke replied, "Wow, really, that's like, what, 3 or 4 months ago" Michael said, "Yeah, it's something like that" Luke replied, "What exactly happened there?" Michael asked, "I went up to him, I knew it was him, I just wanted to see how he was and he completely blanked me, he just turned away and walked off" Luke explained, "What, he didn't even say something?" Michael asked, "Not a word, it's like I wasn't there but I know he heard me, he couldn't of missed it, I was about 2 feet away from him" Luke replied, "You've still got those rings haven't you?" Michael asked, "Yeah, I think I might have them for a long time, I mean I haven't seen him in months and it's not like he wants to talk to me anyway, let's just hope he found somewhere to stay and he's safe" Luke said, "So you don't want to know?" Michael asked, "I just think that maybe it's time to close that chapter and start a new one, I think I've tried hard enough with him and given him enough time and effort, if he'd wanted my help he'd have taken it by now, so I think I'll let that one go" Luke said, Michael could tell that Luke meant what he was saying but wasn't sure that if the chance to see him again presented itself that Luke would just let it pass, "Fair enough, you can't just keep trying forever. Would you stop if you saw him though?" Michael asked, "I don't know, I really don't, I guess I'll have to wait and see" Luke replied, then there were a couple of minutes silence, "Anyway, moving on to better things, your new flat, do you need any help moving things in?" Luke asked, "If you want to lend a hand I'm not going to say no" Michael replied as the both finished their drinks and left for Luke's flat, "So where is all of the stuff coming from for your new place?" Luke asked as they walked along the side of the road, "Well, Ash's Mam is giving us a lot of furniture, apparently she's been ready for this day for a while and she's been saving it up, then My parents are helping out with a lot of the smaller things, the type of things you use every day but wouldn't never think to buy" Michael replied, "So it's a real team effort" Luke said, "Oh Yeah, this place is going to be 50% Clifford and 50% Irwin, I don't think either of us would have it any other way" Michael said, "I guess it must be nice for you to move in with someone you know" Luke said, "It's good yeah, I mean me and Ash know we get along well, so we aren't going to fall out over something stupid, although I have to say I'll miss my Flat mates from my Uni Flat" Michael said, "I'm not so sure they'll miss you as much" Luke replied laughing, "Yeah, they never really liked my drunken late nights" Michael replied, "I'm sure they'll miss them… Eventually" Luke said as they reached the foot of the stairs up to his flat, "Are you coming in for a bit?" Luke asked, "Nah, I should get home, I need to pack the last of my things up before we start moving them out" Michael said, "Ok, what time do you want me to come over?" Luke asked, "Oh, no need to bother, we are renting the van from over near here so we'll just pick you up on our way" Michael explained, "Ok, sounds good, what time?" Luke asked, "12" Michael replied, "Ok, I'll be ready at 12" Luke replied, "Ok, catch you then" Michael said as he wandered off up the street towards the Underground station while Luke made his way inside.

Sure enough there was a knock on Luke's door at just after 12, when he opened it Michael was stood in front of him, "Come on then" Michael said, Luke then grabbed his Jacket off the hook and locked the door before making his way down the stairs, when he reached the bottom he spotted a white van a little way down the street, "COME ON LUKE" Michael shouted out of the window, Luke just kept wondering how Michael had gotten down the stairs so quickly and over to the van before Luke had made it down, he made his way over and jumped in the side door which had been left open, when he jumped in he found 1 seat in the back, "I know it's not the most comfortable but it'll have to do" Michael said as Luke closed the door and sat down, "Come on Ash, let's go" Michael muttered, "Ok, Ok, when you learn to drive you can do all of this" Ashton replied as they pulled away and set off to collect Michael stuff from his Flat.

Fortunately the Traffic was light and they got to Michael's Uni flat in no time, when they walked upstairs they found it strangely empty, "Where is everyone?" Ashton asked as he looked around, "No Idea" Michael replied as he looked in all of the rooms, "Gone to pub, be back later" Luke said holding a note that he'd found in the kitchen, "There is your answer Ash" Michael said, "So should we get started?" Luke asked, "Sure" Michael replied as he led Ashton and Luke into his room where they saw a stack of brown boxes and black bags, "How much stuff do you have?" Ashton asked, still unable to take in just how much was in front of him, "Not that much, this is just what I'm bringing from here, I've got stuff at home I want to put in as well" Michael replied, "We have a 2 bedroom apartment, you can only fit so much in a 2 bedroom apartment" Ashton said as he picked up one of the boxes, "I know, but just take these down to the Van" Michael said picking up a box and handing it to Luke, "Are you going to be helping?" Ashton asked directing the question at Michael, "I need to get everything sorted so I don't forget anything" Michael said, "So that's a no then" Ashton said as he carried the first box out of the room, swiftly followed by Luke. 

It took well over an 2 hours for the 3 of them to clear Michaels room, "How can you have so much shit and then have some more at your house?" Ashton asked as he passed Michael the last box to put in the Van, "I don't think I've got very much stuff" He replied as he struggled to fit the box Ashton had just handed him into the back of the van as it was already full, "Here, I'll just hold that one" Luke replied as he grabbed the box, seeing that it was never going to fit, "I took my stuff over to the Flat this morning and it didn't even fill the Van once, you've still got stuff to come and it's already full" Ashton said, "It's all important though" Michael replied, "Ashton rolled his eyes as he slammed the door shut, "What?" Michael asked as they both went down opposite sides and jumped in, followed by Luke who jumped in the back. The traffic was pretty bad and it took over an hour for them to reach the Flat, Luke had never been before so wasn't sure which building it was in, he just hoped it wasn't one of the tall ones because he didn't fancy the long walk with all these boxes, "Come on then" Ashton said as he jumped out and slid the door open for Luke to get out of, Luke jumped out and looked around, "It's that one, just there" Michael said pointing after seeing Luke wasn't sure where he was going, Luke looked over and saw a row of houses, "Which on?" Luke asked, still not sure, Michael had been vague with his pointing, "Come on, I'll show you" Ashton said as he walked past Luke with a box in his arms. Luke followed Ashton over towards the house on the end of the row, Ashton the unlocked the side door and walked in, Luke followed and immediately had to climb up a flight of stairs to the top floor, "This is home" Ashton said as he dropped the box at the top of the stairs and opened one of the doors, "This is Michael's room, so just drop his stuff in here" Ashton said as Luke followed him into the first room at the top of the stairs, "Ok" Luke said as he placed the box down by the far wall and made his way back to collect another one.

It didn't take too long for the 3 of them to unload the Van and take everything up into Michael's room, "You do realize you have way to much stuff, don't you?" Ashton asked as they stood by the bedroom door and looked at the boxes taking up nearly all of the space in Michael's room, "Are the room's really this small?" Michael said looking at Ashton, "You were here when we decided to rent the place, if you wanted a bigger room then you should have picked somewhere else" Ashton said, "I think I'll have to clear some of it out" Michael said, "Well, please do that before you bring anything else" Ashton said, "And I'm supposed to sleep where?" Michael asked, "There is a sofa in the living room" Ashton replied, "But….." Michael muttered, "I'll ring my parents and tell them I won't be picking anything else up today" Michael said as he left to room on his phone, "How long do you have the van for?" Luke asked, "Until Tuesday, why?" Ashton asked back, "My parent have decided to come over for Christmas so I'm gonna need a spare bed, so I'm gonna change my spare room into a second bedroom, if you have a van I wouldn't have to pay for delivery of a bed, I mean I know it months away but I want to get it done over the summer break so I don't have to worry about it when I comes to Christmas" Luke explained, "I'm not sure you'll get a double bed in the Van" Ashton replied, "I just need a single, they can have my double when they come over" Luke said, "Ok, if you buy one while we have the van I'll come and help you move it, no problem" Ashton replied, "Thanks, I'll have a look when I go home" Luke said as Michael came back into the room, "There ok with that, I guess we can just get it on Monday" Michael said, "Ok, but for now I need a break" Ashton said, "Pub?" Michael asked, "Yeah, come on, first round is on me" Ashton said as they made their way back down the stairs and out.

For the next week Luke spent his time between his flat and Michael and Ashton's place, he'd started using the underground and it was only a short journey and the station was only a few minutes away from their Flat, he'd decided to help Ashton and Michael out with sorting their Flat out, setting up rent payments, electric bills, water bills, gas bills, council tax and maintenance fees, it can all be very confusing but Luke had to set most of them up when he first moved over so he was a great help, it was a little payback to Ashton as well who'd helped him get the bed he wanted to his flat using the van they had. During his time he'd met Michael's parents, they seemed very normal and just wanted the best for their son, just as any parent would, he'd also met Ashton's mum very briefly, she was in a hurry to get away so Luke didn't really speak to her, but he'd been invited along with Michael to join her and Ashton for a meal along with Michael's parents later in the week, it was something he was looking forward to.

The week flew by and before he knew it the calendar said it was June and Luke was meeting up with Ashton & Michael's families for a meal, he wasn't sure what he should wear, he was unsure if it was to be a formal affair or just a casual meet up, he'd text Michael to find out but he was no help as he didn't know himself, so in the end Luke opted for a shirt and Tie, he'd rather be overdressed then underdressed. When he arrived at the restaurant he was asked his name for the reservation, "Oh, Hemmings, although it will be under Irwin or Clifford, I think" Luke explained, "Ah, yes, this way" the waiter said as he lead Luke into one of the private function rooms at the back, when he got inside he found a table set up for 6 in a small room, "Please, take a seat" the waiter said as he pulled out a chair for Luke to sit on, "Thank you" Luke said as he sat down at the table, "Would you like to order a drink?" the waiter asked, "I'll have a beer please" Luke said, then the waiter left the room and Luke was left by himself. His beer arrived just before Michael did, "Someone's started early" Michael said as he entered the room, surprising Luke who was looking at his phone, "Oh, I've only just gotten it" Luke said looking at the beer on the table, "I know, I saw the waiter bring it in, we've been stuck at the desk for ages, my Mum managed to run into someone she knows, so they're still out there talking" Michael explained as he sat down next to Luke just as his parents entered the room and sat down, It didn't take long for Ashton and his Mum to come in and sit down at opposite ends of the table. All in all it was a good night, Luke learned as lot about Ashton and Michael, they weren't too happy about it but their parents were more than happy to tell Luke stories about them when they were younger. By the end of the night Luke was a lot more comfortable around the crowd he'd just spent the evening with, "It was lovely to get to know you" Michael's Mum said as she and Michael's dad were getting into their Taxi outside the front of the restaurant, "It was really nice to meet you to" Luke said as he helped her into the back of the taxi and closed the door, "Michael" his dad called out from in the back of the taxi, Michael walked over and stood next to Luke, "Keep Luke around, he's a nice lad and you might learn something of him" His dad said, "Go Home" Michael said shaking his head as the taxi began to drive off down the road, then Ashton's Mum came out of the restaurant, "Luke, Michael, it's been great, I've really liked meeting you, I hope we can all do this again sometime" She said as she gave them both a hug while Ashton watched on with discomfort, "Right, well, I'm gonna head off" She said, "How are you getting home?" Ashton asked before she could leave, "That taxi is for me" She said pointing to the taxi waiting just up the road, "Ok, well, be careful and I'll see you next week" Ashton said as he walked over and gave his Mum a hug and a kiss, "You be careful to" She said as she walked up to the taxi, jumped in and it soon disappeared. 

Luke, Michael and Ashton hung around for a few minutes trying to decide what to do, "I think I might just head home" Luke said, "Yeah, I think it sounds like a good idea, I've got work in the morning" Ashton replied, "I mean, I'd like to go out but it's probably a good idea to call it a night" Michael added as he looked at his phone and saw it was 10:14, "Come on, we'll catch one of the last undergrounds if we are quick" Luke said as they set off towards the nearest station. When they got to the station it was extremely quiet, "This is great" Michael said as he walked straight up to the ticket machine and got his ticket for the 8 stops he would have to take to get home, when he was done Ashton walked up and did the same without issue, but when Luke came to get a ticket it came up and said invalid selection, "What?" Luke muttered, "What's up?" Ashton asked, "It says it's an invalided selection" Luke replied, "What you only need 4 stops" Ashton said as he walked over with Michael and looked at the machine, "Try it again" Michael said, so they watched as Luke keyed in the same information and put his money in again, this time it worked and even spat out a second ticket just for good measure, "Oh.., What?" Luke asked as he took his tickets, "Did it give you them both?" Michael asked, "Yeah" Luke replied as he put the spare one in his pocket and walked through the ticket machines using the other ticket, then along with Michael and Ashton began to descend further underground to the platforms.

When they got to the correct platform they looked at the board which told them that the next train wasn't for 9 minutes, so they sat down on the empty bench and watched the world pass them by, "So, what are your plans for the weekend?" Ashton asked Luke, "I'm not sure, I need to get some food in, I've only got a couple of things, so I'll go to the shops in the morning, then after than I'm not sure, I'll probably look for a job" Luke replied, "Did any of those ones I gave you come to anything?" Ashton asked, "Nah, I sent my CV off to them all but I've never gotten a reply and the 2 interviews I had didn't go well, I just wasn't what they were looking for, they wanted long term" Luke said, "Oh…, sorry about that" Ashton said, "It's ok, it wasn't your fault, it just happens" Luke replied as 3 guys appeared on the platform wearing high visibility jackets and made there was down to where the 3 of them were sitting, "Can I see your tickets Lads?" one of the guys asked, "Yeah" They all said as they took their tickets and showed them to the guy, "Ok, thanks lads" he said as he wandered further along the platform, when he was past they could all see that he had British Transport Police written on the back of his jacket, "Must be one of those nights" Ashton said, "Yeah, they'll be looking for people who vaulted the barrier and are trying to get a free ride" Michael replied. They sat for a couple of minutes until the next train pulled into the station, they got up and waited for the doors to open, when they did they hopped on and waited for the doors to close again, while they were waiting they heard loud voices coming from the far end of the platform, "Come on, that's it, I've told you 100 times before that you can't come down here without a ticket" one of the officers said to a guy sitting on the ground at the end of the platform, "Looks like someone's luck has run out" Ashton said as 2 of the officers helped the guy up, he didn't seem to bothered that he was being moved, as he stood up off the ground Michael instantly recognized his face, even though it was from a distance he could tell who it was, he turned to Luke who was in a world of his own, he quickly had to decide whether to tell him or not, he'd never seen Luke happier than in the last few weeks, he'd had no cares in the world since he'd finished Uni for the year and he'd closed the chapter on the whole Calum thing so it made sense to leave it, but at the same time he felt like Luke would want to know, after hesitating for a few seconds he made his mind up, "Luke….., it's Calum" Michael said, Luke instantly turned around and looked at him, then looked past him and down the platform through the windows at the guy being helped off the platform by 3 transport police, Luke looked back at Michael who just nodded in acceptance at what Luke was about to do, then Luke jumped back off the train just as the doors began to close, "Luke?" Ashton said as the doors closed leaving him and Michael on the train with Luke on the outside, "Just go back to your flat, I'll be ok" Luke said, Ashton looked confused, "Catch you later Luke" Michael said, confusing Ashton even more, "What's going on?" Ashton asked Michael as the train began to pull away, "I'll explain along the way" Michael replied as the train disappeared into the tunnel as they watched Luke begin to wander down the platform.


	8. Everybody Hurts

Luke walked along the platform and watched as the 3 police officers escorted Calum off the platform and up the stairs, Luke noticed that there was a blanket laying on the ground where Calum had just been sitting, it wasn't very big but it could only belong to Calum so he picked it up and followed the officers up the stairs, they didn't seem to be going very fast but that seemed to be down to Calum. When they reached the top the officers took Calum over to one side, once they spotted Luke one of them asked to see his ticket, it was a different officer than had spoken to him when he was with Michael and Ashton, "Excuse me, can I see your ticket?" he asked as Luke walked towards then, "Oh, yeah, sure" Luke said as he produced 2 tickets from his pocket, "Why do you have 2?" The officer asked, "Well I found this one on the floor next to this rag and wondered if maybe this guy had dropped it" Luke said, "The officers looked at Calum, "Is this your ticket?" One of them asked, Calum hesitated for a moment, it looked like he wasn't sure what to do, then he nodded, "Ok, we'll let you go this time but next time you'll be spending the night in the cells" the officer explained as they walked away and left Luke with Calum. Luke could see that Calum was cold, he was shaking uncontrollably, although some of that might have been from the fear of getting arrested, whatever it was Luke knew he couldn't just leave him, he looked in a real mess, there were bruises on his arms, along with what looked like fresh cuts and Luke had noticed that he was walking gingerly on his right foot, coupled with how skinny he was Luke knew he needed help, he just wasn't sure if Calum was willing to accept it. After waiting a minute or so to compose himself he walked over to Calum who had sat down on the ground where he had been left, "Here, I think this is yours" Luke said as he knelt down in front of Calum and held the blanket he'd picked up off the ground out in front of him, Calum took it from Luke's hand without even looking at him, "You know you could say thank you" Luke said once he realized he wasn't getting a response for what he'd done, "Thanks" Calum then mumbled, "It was no problem" Luke said, Calum just kept his head down but he was still shivering, "Are you cold?" Luke asked, there was no verbal reply from Calum but he nodded his head slowly, "You know there is a 24 hour Café just on the street, why don't you just go in there?" Luke asked, "You have to buy something to stay" Calum replied, Luke reached into his pocket and pulled out his wallet, inside was a £10 note, Luke knew money would be tight over the summer since he didn't have any student loans again until September at the earliest and he wasn't having much luck getting a job, "Come on then, I'll buy something and then you can stay" Luke said, as soon as he did Calum looked at him, his eyes shone bright, it was like all his Christmas's had come at once, Luke was struck with the same feeling as the first time he'd met Calum, his brown eyes were still mesmerizing, "Really?" Calum asked, Luke pushed himself up so he was standing, then he reached his arm out towards Calum, "Yeah, come on" Luke said as Calum reached his hand out and tentatively stood up, when he did he winced in pain, "Are you ok?" Luke asked, "I'm ok" Calum muttered, Luke knew he wasn't but ignored it as they slowly made their way out of the front of the station and over to the Café. When they walked into the café it was quiet, maybe 2 or 3 people in, as soon as the guy behind the counter say Calum he came wandering over, "We've told you before you can't come in here" the guy said, completely ignoring Luke who was holding the door open for Calum, who looked worried again, "He's with me" Luke said, the guy looked at Luke, he was probably a bit surprised to see someone who was dressed as well as Luke tonight helping a homeless guy into the store, "Oh….., Ok…, come in" He said as he walked back towards the counter, "Grab a seat, your pick" Luke said as he went up to the counter while Calum picked out a table, "I'll have a coffee and a slice of that Chocolate cake" Luke said pointing at the cake that was on the counter, "Anything else?" the guy asked, "No, that's all" Luke replied, "That's £4.50" the guy said as Luke handed his the £10 note, while he was getting the change the girl behind him had plated up the cake and made the coffee, so Luke collected his change and picked his tray up which now had everything on, "Thank you" Luke said as he turned around and saw Calum sitting at the corner table, furthest away from the door so made his way over.

Luke placed the tray down on the table where Calum was sitting, "There we go" Luke said as he sat down and lifted Calum's Coffee and Cake off the tray and placed them in front of him, he looked up at Luke in surprise and slight shock, "Are they for me?" Calum asked, Luke nodded his head, "You didn't need to buy me anything, you could have just bought for you" Calum said, "I know, but I've just been out for a meal, so I'm not Hungary and you probably are" Luke replied, Calum looked at the Cake and Coffee in front of him then looked back up at Luke, "I don't want to seem ungrateful or anything but I don't want you to be wasting your money on me" Calum said as he pushed the plates back towards Luke who looked at them and frowned, he thought maybe Calum had opened up a bit but it didn't look like it now, "Calum, I don't understand why you don't want my help" Luke said as he looked Calum in the eyes, "I don't want to be a burden on anyone, I'd be quite happy if I could just get on with my meaningless life without being bothered" Calum replied, Luke was heartbroken to hear someone say that there life was meaningless, no one's life should ever be meaningless, "So why did you come here with me?" Luke asked, "Since you got me off the hook I thought that, well, I was just being polite, I thought maybe I owed you something and since you offered to bring me in here I thought that I was just the right thing to do" Calum explained, "So…, if I'd just come up and spoken to you, you wouldn't have come with me?" Luke asked, "Probably not" Calum replied, it annoyed Luke that Calum was only being polite by coming with him, "I don't think I'll ever understand you Calum" Luke said, there was a slight hint of anger in his voice that Calum picked up on, "What do you mean?" Calum asked, "From the good of my heart I offered you the chance of a nice warm place to stay tonight and the only reason you took it was because you were being polite, maybe if you just accepted help from people you wouldn't be in the hole you find yourself in" Luke said, slowly getting more annoyed, "I put myself in the hole I'm in, it shouldn't be anyone else's problem to help me get out of it" Calum said, "You aren't going to get out of it yourself" Luke said, "What makes you so sure?" Calum asked, "How do you plan on getting out of it then, or do you, are you just planning on living the rest of your life on the streets?" Luke asked, "If that's what happens then that's what happens" Calum replied, Luke sighed, he couldn't believe that there were people like Calum in the world, "Why do you care anyway?" Calum asked, "Can someone not just be concerned about another person without a reason?" Luke asked, "I guess so, but there is something with you, I want to know why you want to help me?" Calum asked, Luke let out a sigh, "Ok, there is a reason" Luke said, "I knew it" Calum said, "I don't really want to go into it" Luke said, "I'd like to know" Calum said, Luke sighed again, "Ok. It was a couple of years ago, I was 16 I think, there was this guy at my school, he was in my year, he was always a little different and he had been for a year or so by this point, he didn't really have friends and no one really talked to him, sometimes he'd try and talk to me, but since I didn't really talk to people I'd try and ignore him the best I could, like when I saw him on the street I'd pretend to be on my phone, or I'd put my headphones in or something" Luke explained as he sighed again, "One day someone took his laptop off him and went through his stuff and found out he was gay, he just left the room and never came back, turned out that his parents found out and kicked him out for it, they weren't very accepting of it and they hated that they'd created a child like that. So he ended up living on the streets like you, then one night while he was asleep in a bus shelter or something these guys, who were out of their minds on something, attacked him and left him for dead, he died 3 days later in hospital. The hardest part was that when I went to his funeral, there were only 5 people there and none of them were his family, I felt so bad for him that in his last few weeks he had no one there for him, then I felt so guilty for all those times that he tried to talk to me and I ignored him, I just kept thinking that, maybe if I'd talked to him things would have been different, maybe he'd still be here" Luke explained as his eyes began to swell up, Calum sat in silence, he wasn't sure what to say, Luke rubbed his eyes with the sleeve on his jacket, "That's why I care, that's why I'm concerned, because I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I let it happen again, Because of that I think everyone needs someone, even if it just a friend to talk to. It breaks my heart every time I see someone that has died and they had no one, for the last few moments of their lives they had no one they could talk to, no one to say goodnight to them, nothing to look forward to" Luke said as he wiped his jacket arm across his face to stop the tears from rolling down his face, Calum could see that this was something that meant a lot to Luke, "I don't know what you want me to say Luke, I feel like now your only doing this to feel less guilt about that guy" Calum said, "You see, that's why I didn't want to tell you, because I knew that's what you would say" Luke replied wiping the remaining tears from his eyes, "I think everyone deserves a second chance and if they are lucky enough to get one they should grasp it with both hands and never let go" Luke added, "This seems awfully dramatic seeing as it's all over a piece of Cake" Calum said trying to make light of the situation, Luke didn't take to well to Calum making a joke, "Do what you fucking want with the Cake" Luke said as he grabbed his jacket off the back of the chair and walked out of the Café leaving Calum sitting by himself.

Luke was full or anger, he couldn't ever remember being this angry in his entire life, he couldn't believe that he could open up about something that meant so much to him and Calum could make a joke out of the situation. Luke walked quickly down the street, he knew there was a bus station at the end of the road and that one of the night busses ran right past his flat, as he got close he could see there was a bus pulling away, "Typical" Luke mumbled to himself as he reached the bus station and looked on the board, it told him that the next bus would be 20 minutes, so he walked over and sat down at one of the benches, he was the only person in the station and it was starting to rain outside. As Luke sat, he was watching the rain outside splatter onto the window in front of him, then he heard the doors open and someone walk in, he didn't pay any attention and he just continued watching the rain outside, it had a soothing effect on him and he was feeling calmer than he had been when he'd walked in, "Luke" a voice from behind him said, he turned around and saw Calum standing in front of him, dripping wet from the rain outside, Luke turned back around and looked back out of the window, he knew he'd only get angry with him again, so he'd rather say nothing, "Luke, I'm sorry….., I shouldn't have joked about something like that, it obviously meant a lot to you" Calum said, it was hard for Luke, he so desperately wanted to turn around but out of principle he didn't, "That was all I wanted to say, I hope you can accept my apology" Calum muttered as he began to wander back out of the station, Luke heard the door open as Calum left, "CALUM" Luke shouted just as he was about to leave, Calum turned around just as he was about to step outside and looked over towards Luke.

Luke pushed himself up from his seat and walked over towards Calum, "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have talked to you like that and I shouldn't ignore you either" Luke said raising a small smile in apology, "It's ok Luke, I understand, I'd be angry as well" Calum mumbled, "Just when I saw your bruises and you walking like you were on your ankle I thought that you might be in some trouble and I just wanted to help" Luke said, "Someone just wanted to settle a score with me, I think they settled it as well, but it's ok now" Calum replied, "Can I ask what happened?" Luke said, "You might remember, but ok, Only if I can sit down" Calum replied as he was struggling to prop himself him without putting too much weight on his ankle, "Ok" Luke said as they sat down on the nearest seat, the relief on Calum's face when they sat down was clear to see and Luke knew that his ankle was causing him real pain, "It was a while back, but this guy beat me up and took my parents wedding rings" Calum said, as soon as he did Luke remembered he had them at this flat from when Michael bought them of the homeless guy that was selling them, Luke didn't say anything, he just let Calum carry on, "Well I found him and I got kind of angry and beat him up because he said he'd sold them the night before" Calum explained, Luke was shocked that Calum could have done something like that, but in some ways he understood, he remembered how much the rings had meant to Calum, "But I guess you already know that" Calum added, Luke was confused, he had no idea how he was supposed to already know this, "Why would I know this?" Luke asked, "Michael told you, didn't he?" Calum inquired, "How would Michael know, what did he had to do with it?" Luke asked, he was now more confused that he had been a few seconds ago, how was Michael involved in all of this, "Do you remember that day when I helped you back to your Flat, you were struggling on your ankle after I kind of pushed you off the curb?" Calum asked, "Um….., Oh yeah, it was raining" Luke said, "Yeah, well, it was that morning that I'd come across the guy and I was actually on my way back to the park when I came across you. So when Michael turned up later and instantly wanted to talk to you when he saw me I assumed that he recognized me and must have seen what I'd done and want to tell you about it, because if I remember he didn't want to talk in front of me" Calum explained, It made sense to Luke now, Michael didn't have anything to do with it, it was all in Calum's head, "No…., it wasn't that he wanted to talk to me about, but it does explain why you left" Luke said, "I just thought I'd get out before you found out and threw me out anyways" Calum replied, Luke sighed, the whole reason Calum had left all those months ago was a simple misunderstanding, not that he was going to stay anyway, "So…., why did you blank me when I tried to talk to you in the park a couple of months back?" Luke asked, "I'd had a fight with someone earlier that day and I looked a mess, so I knew if you saw me you'd want to help and you were with your friends and I didn't want to embarrass you so I just thought it was best to leave" Calum explained, "Was it the same people who did this to you" Luke said as he pointed at Calum's bruises on his arms, Calum quickly pulled his shirt sleeves down over the top of them but it just rode back up and revealed them again, then he nodded, "You shouldn't have to put up with things like that, is there no one you can go to?" Luke asked, Calum shook his head, "Can you not get into any of the shelters or anything?" Luke asked, "They don't want to take me in because they know I'm violent and they don't want to risk me being violent while I'm there" Calum explained, "But that was a one off thing, if anything you are the victim" Luke said, "You could look at it that way, but I beat the guy up in front of a group of 10 people and they spread what had happened around so everyone knows now" Calum explained, "So where are you going to go tonight?" Luke asked as his bus pulled up outside, "I'll find a doorway or something, anything that's not in the rain is good" Calum said, "Will those guys not find you again?" Luke asked, "They might, but I'll be ok, I'm used to the beatings now, it's part this thing we call life" Calum replied, Luke almost fell apart there and then, for someone to say that being beaten up was part of their life was so hard for him to understand, no one should ever be beaten up, especially if it's just for someone else's entertainment, "Look, Calum…., I'm pretty sure I know what you are going to say, but…, that's my bus over there, it's the last one of the night that goes my way, I know I've asked before but…., you can come and stay in my flat if you want, I mean just for the one night if you want or whatever, it's dry and warm and…., well…., you don't know how much happier I'd feel if you'd just say yes, because then I won't worry about you for the rest of the night, about where you were and if you were ok, so….?" Luke asked, it was very fast and kind of all came out in one long mumble, Calum just quietly took in what Luke had said, Luke looked up at the board, his bus was leaving in just over a minute, when he looked back at Calum he was looking out of the window at the pouring rain that was crashing off the glass, then Calum sighed and turned to look at him…..


	9. The Crossroads

Luke sat in the kitchen reading through the news on his phone, as he scrolled through he clicked on the Australia section, 'Heavy Rain And Flooding In Western Australia' was the top headline, Luke turned and looked out of the window as the rain continued to fall, just like it had for most of the night, "At least that's their winter" he muttered to himself thinking about the summer they'd had while he'd been over there and comparing it to the one he was having in England. Luke soon got distracted by an email which explained when he would get the final results of his first year at Uni and then went on to tell him about his second year and what he could expect, he found this all a little strange as he didn't even know if he'd made it to the second year but it was something to be reading and it was better than looking at the news. 

Luke got so engrossed in reading the details of his second year he failed to notice when the door to the living room opened and got a shock when a figure appeared in his vision, "Shit" Luke rocked back on his chair placing his hand on his chest, "I nearly had a heart attack, I didn't hear you come in" Luke said as he looked at a disheveled looking Calum stood before him, although that was the only look he'd ever know for Calum, "Sorry, I should have knocked or something" Calum muttered, "No, it's ok, I was just so into what I was reading, you shouldn't have to knock, you can go anywhere, apart from my room, obviously" Luke replied, "Um…, you know that glass of water you gave me last night" Calum nervously said, "Yeah" Luke replied, "I think I must have knocked it over in my sleep because there is glass on the floor this morning" Calum explained, "Did you stand in any of it?" Luke asked as he stood up from his chair and grabbed a small brush and a dustpan, "No. I'm sorry, I'm just clumsy in my sleep" Calum said as Luke past him and headed into his spare room. Luke returned a few minutes later to find Calum standing in the same place as when he'd left, "You know you can move" Luke said with a smile, "I just didn't want to be in the way" Calum replied, "You aren't going to be in the way, this place is made for 2 people. What do you want for breakfast?" Luke asked, "Uh…, I don't know" Calum replied, like he'd never been asked the question before, "Have a look in the cupboards, I'm sure there something you'll find that you like" Luke replied, "The food is all at this end near the fridge, plates and stuff are at that end" Luke added pointing to either end of the kitchen as he did, "Ok" Calum replied as he shuffled into the kitchen as looked in the cupboards.

Calum looked around for a little while before he pulled out some bread, "Can I have some toast?" he asked, "Yeah, you don't need to ask, if it's there just help yourself" Luke replied as Calum pulled the toaster forward, "You'll need to switch it on at the wall" Luke then added, "Ok" Calum replied as he followed Luke's instruction. Once Calum's toast was done he plated it up and began to eat it, "You can go and sit down" Luke said as he was still at the table reading his email, which seemed to be never ending, "I wasn't sure if you had some rule about food on the sofa's or something" Calum said, "No, if it gets dirty then I'll just clean it, that how I've always been" Luke replied as Calum walked over to the Sofa's, looked at one, hesitated and then moved to sit down on the other one, "Why did you change your mind?" Luke asked, confused by Calum's actions, "That one is where you sit" Calum said, "How do you know that?" Luke asked, "You can see that the corner is more worn that the rest of the Sofa, so you must sit there" Calum explained, "Well, yeah, I guess, but that doesn't mean you can't sit there" Luke said, "I'm happy here" Calum replied, Luke thought about replying but instead decided to get back to reading his email, he was sure he must be by the end now.

Luke was wrong about his email, he was nowhere near the end, in fact it took him another 20 minutes before he reached the end, but when he did he let out a sigh of relief, glad he didn't have to read it again, "Is everything ok?" Calum asked, "Yeah, just Uni stuff" Luke replied, "Ok" Calum muttered as he stood and carried his plate back into the kitchen and placed it in the sink, "Just leave it there, I just let it stack until later then I wash everything, it's the advantage of living by myself with a 6 piece dinner set" Luke said as he could see Calum looking for some washing up liquid, "Ok" Calum muttered, then he turned and went to sit back down on the Sofa, where he was soon joined by Luke sitting opposite him, "So…, do you want to do anything today or are you just wanting to stay in?" Luke asked, "I wanted to see if any of the shelters have spaces, do you know where the nearest on is? Calum asked, shocking Luke who wasn't expecting him to want to leave, "Um…., ah…., um…." Luke stuttered, struggling to get anything constructive to come out as he was so shocked, "If you don’t I'll just go out for a look" Calum said, "No, I know a few, I'll come with you, that's no problem" Luke replied, "Thanks, I appreciate you letting me stay but it's not really long term, the quicker I'm out of your way the better" Calum said, Luke was to stunned to question what Calum had just said so him, so he just smiled and nodded, "do you want to use the shower?" Luke asked, Calum nodded, as he stood up and made his way to the door, "Just use the stuff that's in there, I'll get you some clean clothes" Luke said, "No, no, you don't need to do that" Calum replied, "No, I insist. No one should have to go out wearing clothes that look like that, you can have some of my older things, there still good, but I've got newer stuff now" Luke said, "Are you sure?" Calum asked, "Yes, now go and get a shower, I'll drop then outside the door for you" Luke said, "Thanks" Calum replied, even managing to crack a smile, which Luke hadn't really seen before as he left the room and went into the bathroom, Luke was still shocked by Calum wanting to leave and saying that staying here wasn't long term, he was struggling to get his head around it but he doubted he ever would, so he went and got Calum so clean clothes out and dropped them by the bathroom door, just like he said he would.

Once Calum was out of the shower and changed he wanted to go straight out, Luke was hesitant as it was still raining outside, but once he'd checked the weather for the day he could see that it didn't really matter when they went out they were going to get wet, so reluctantly he agreed to go. As they left Luke grabbed his jacket from the rack and threw one to Calum, "What's this for?" Calum asked, "It's to keep you dry" Luke replied, thinking that the question from Calum seemed a bit stupid, "I know that but I don't need a jacket, you already gave me all of this" Calum said looking at what he was wearing which Luke had given him, from the shoes to the beanie which Calum seemed particularly happy with, "I know, but now I'm giving you a jacket as well" Luke said, "Ok, but…" Calum said as Luke cut him off, "No but, you'll have it, it's raining and you'll have it" Luke said, "Ok" Calum replied as he pulled it on and they headed out.

Luke knew of 3 shelters in the area, he assumed Calum knew them as well but maybe didn't know exactly where they were so he went along more as a guide than the friend he'd prefer to be. The first shelter was full to breaking point and the line of people waiting outside didn't give Luke much hope that Calum would be able to get a bed for the night, the second one was similar but with a smaller line out of the front door. The third shelter Luke knew was a distance out from his flat and he knew about it from talking to Michael, it looked hopeful from a distance but as they walked closer Calum became hesitant and eventually stopped before they were close, "Come on Calum, this one looks good" Luke said, it hurt him to say it as he'd prefer Calum to be back at his Flat instead of out here looking for a shelter, "I can't go in there" Calum said, "Why not?" Luke asked, "They won't let me stay there" Calum replied, "Sorry for asking again, but why?" Luke asked, "You remember how I said some places wouldn't let me in because I cause trouble, well, this is one of them" Calum explained, "How can you be sure?" Luke asked, just wanting to hurry Calum up as he was getting tired of trailing around in the rain, "I've tried it, they just won't even think about it, they told me outright why, so there isn't any point in trying" Calum replied, Luke looked over at the building and then back at Calum, "So do you know anywhere else?" Luke then asked, "Um…, there is another place, but I don't know where it is" Calum replied, "I can look for it on my phone but I need to be inside somewhere" Luke said, "I don't know where we can go, I don't know any places" Calum replied, "There are some shops up there, if we get inside I'll look for you" Luke said, Calum nodded and they began to walk through the rain up to the shops Luke had suggested.

At the top of the road there was a group of shops joined by a central walkway which was covered in from the rain, Luke and Calum stopped underneath the roof and Luke looked up the shelter Calum had suggested on his phone, he wasn't sure where it was but he described the area and Luke used his limited knowledge to work it out, "Right, I think I've found it" Luke said "Can we get there?" Calum asked, "It's a way out but yeah, I think we can get there" Luke replied, "Ok, should we go?" Calum asked, "Sure" Luke replied and they set off again out into the rain. It took a while but soon they came upon a small building which looked no different to the houses around it, "Are you sure this is the place?" Luke asked as he looked at Calum then looked back at his phone which told him he was in the right place, "I'm 100%, I've been here before" Calum replied as he walked up the steps to the front door and pressed the buzzer and waited. Soon enough someone answered the door and once Calum had explained his situation he was welcomed in and Luke followed, mainly just to get out of the rain but he was inquisitive as to how these places worked. Once inside they were immediately shown into a large front room where there were 5 or 6 people sitting and waiting, slowly they were called through to a back room 1 by 1, although the room didn't empty as new people came in all the time. Pretty soon it was Calum who was called through into the back room, Luke waited half hoping that they were full and that Calum could come back with him, but since Calum wanted this he sort of hoped that he would get a bed. Calum reappeared a few minutes later with a smile on his face, "They have a bed and it’s a long term thing not just a night or 2" Calum said the smile on his face getting wider, Luke hurt inside but didn't want to let it show, "Great" he replied through gritted teeth, "So how have you been here before and not been able to stay for very long?" Luke then asked, "It's run by different people, I've never seen any of the people that are here, they are funded to keep people like me off the street and help them out" Calum replied, it hurt for Luke as he'd wanted to be the one that helped Calum, but he had his heart set on staying here, "If you're sure it's what you want, because if it's not you can always stay with me" Luke said in a desperate final attempt to try and persuade Calum to change his mind, "I really appreciate what you've done for me Luke, you don't know how much it means, but, I've already made a pretty good mess of my life, I don't really want to ruin yours as well, you've got so much in front of you, you don't need anything in the way of that" Calum replied, sounding like he was much older than Luke even though the gap couldn't be more than a year or 2. Luke found it hard, Calum was trying his best to keep out of Luke's life because he thought he was making Luke's life worse when actually Luke could think of nothing better than having Calum staying with him, he just didn't have the nerve to tell him the truth, so he was having to watch while he slipped away again, "You know, if you ever need somewhere to stay for any reason" Luke said resigned to the fact he'd lost Calum, "I know, I hope I never have to bother you for something like that, I hope we see each other for happier reasons someday" Calum replied, it was killing Luke as he tried to hold the tears back, "I best be off, don't want to keep you" Luke said, his voice wobbled, he knew he needed to get away before he broke down completely, "Ok, well, I hope I see you around" Calum replied, "Yeah, hopefully" Luke said as Calum stuck his hand out to shake with Luke who did the same, "Thanks Luke, it means a lot to me what you've done" Calum said, the smile on his face showed Luke that he meant every word he said, "I'd have done the same for anyone" Luke replied as he slipped his hand out of Calum's, "Right, good luck Calum" Luke said as he stepped back towards the door, "Yeah, you to Luke, you to" Calum said as Luke flicked the door handle down and turned to leave, "Oh…, Here" Calum said, Luke turned back to see what he wanted to say, "Your jacket, it's yours, I won't need it" Calum said as he stretched his arm out towards Luke, "You can keep it" Luke said, "No, it's yours" Calum said as he shook his hand and pushed it further towards Luke, "No, it's yours, I gave it to you so it's yours" Luke replied as he pushed it away, "Your to kind sometimes Luke" Calum said as he pulled the jacket back in to him and away from Luke, who just smiled as he made his way out of the door, "See ya Luke" Calum said, "See ya Calum" Luke replied just as he pulled the door shut behind himself. Luke stood just outside the door in the rain which was still pouring and looked up into the sky, letting the rain fall onto his face he let out a huge sigh, he didn't know whether it was a sigh of relief or one of disappointment that Calum was gone, either way it felt like it was time to move on, so with another sigh he crossed the road and began his long walk home.


	10. Times Like These

Luke unlocked his front door and stumbled inside dropping his bag on the floor while trying to keep his Phone held up to his ear, "I know you want me to go for a drink tonight Michael, but I've just gotten in from work" he explained as he shut the door behind him with his foot, "I'm tired, I don't want to be out all night, I only get 1 day off a week now" he continued to explained when Michael questioned his attempt to avoid going out, "Just 1, that's it, I want to be back by 10" Luke explained finally giving in to Michael request, "Ok, I'll be ready at 8, please try and be on time" Luke said as he ended the call and walked into his room to get changed out of his work clothes and into something a bit more comfortable.

Unusually Michael was on time and there was a knock on the door at 1 minute to 8, Luke was surprised but grabbed his wallet and made his way out where he was greeted by Michael who walked down the stairs from his Flat just in front of him, when they reached the bottom Ashton was sat in his car waiting for them, "I thought if Ash came then we wouldn't be out to late" Michael said as they made their way over, "Sound's good" Luke replied as the made there way over and Luke hopped in the back while Michael jumped in the front, "Hey Luke, it's been a while" Ashton immediately said when he got in, "2 or 3 weeks yeah" Luke replied, "Are we just going to sit here or are we going to move?" Michael asked, aiming the question towards Ashton as he was the one in the driver's seat, clearly irritated that they hadn't set off for the pub yet and had started up a conversation, "Ok, ok, we'll go" Ashton said as he looked in his mirror's and pulled away, heading down towards the river where Michael's favorite pub was located.

Saturday nights weren't very busy on the roads, it was mostly taxi drivers, so soon enough they were at the pub and Michael was at the bar getting the first round of drinks, "Had a good day then?" Ashton asked as they waited for Michael return, "Uh…, Yeah, I guess so, it was busy but it always is" Luke replied, "How come?" Ashton asked, "There are only 3 of us in the department on a Saturday instead of 6 like on a Friday afternoon" Luke replied, "So it's as busy but they only have 3 people working there?" Ashton asked, "Yeah, who knew working in accounts for a shipping company would be so stressful" Luke replied, just as he finished Michael appeared through the crowd and sat down, placing 2 beers and an orange juice down on the table, "So Luke, how was your day?" he asked, Luke and Ashton laughed as their conversation was about to repeat itself, Michael looked confused not understanding what was so funny.

The conversation rumbled on for a couple of hours before Ashton announced that he needed to go because he was at work in the morning, sensibly Luke and Michael decided to go home at the same time, Luke didn't fancy trying to get Michael home in the state he would have been in after another beer or 2 and Michael was in a strangely agreeable mood for once. The drive back to Luke's flat was uneventful, that was until they stopped and Luke stepped out, at that point Michael's door swung open and he threw up all over, just missing Luke's feet, "Fucking hell" Ashton shouted as he realized that the inside of the door had taken the full force of the vomit, Michael then tumbled out of the car and hit the ground before picking himself up to his knees and throwing up again, Luke crouched down next to him, "Are you ok Michael?" he asked but just from the look he knew he wasn't, "I don't think it was the beer that did this" Luke said as he looked up at Ashton, "He went to that takeaway just before we came out, you know the one that the health inspectors closed a couple of months back and has just re opened" Ashton replied, "Explains a lot" Luke said as he tried to help Michael up, "Can you get him back in the car?" Ashton asked, "I think it might be easier if he stays here tonight" Luke said, "Are you sure?" Ashton asked, "Yeah, saves you having to keep an eye on him and you have work tomorrow, I don't" Luke replied, "Ok, but I'll help you get him upstairs before I go" Ashton replied as he turned the car off and jumped out to help Luke, then they both helped Michael upstairs. Once they got him inside Luke guided him into the spare room and placed him down on the bed with the help of Ashton, "Will you be ok with him?" Ashton asked, "Yeah, I'll get him a bucket and he can be sick in there. You get yourself away home, I'll let you know how he is in the morning" Luke replied as Ashton made his way to the door and soon Left Luke with Michael. It was a long night for Luke as he was in the spare room for the most part watching Michael as he didn't look to good and he was almost constantly vomiting, Luke caught most of it in the bucket he had left by Michael's bedside, but not all of it, he knew he had some cleaning to do in the morning and the morning couldn't come soon enough.

Luke was awoke the next morning by the sunlight glaring into his eyes, he quickly looked around and realized he wasn't in his own room, he was laying on the floor in the spare room and Michael was still laying on the bed with his head hung over the side, Luke looked around, the bucket was in the corner and there were 2 towels on the floor in front of Michael, clearly he'd tried to clean up last night but he couldn't remember it, slowly he began to push himself up off the floor, it wasn't the most comfortable place he'd ever slept and he knew his back would be feeling the effects for a few days, but Michael looked better so he felt that it was all worth it.

Soon enough Luke was in the living room drinking a cup of coffee and reading through a magazine he'd picked up at work the day before, then Michael wandered in, looking confused by everything, "Luke…., Why I am at your flat?" he asked, "Get a Coffee and come sit down and I'll explain" Luke replied, Michael stood for a minute taking in what Luke had just said, then he went to get a Coffee. Luke explained to Michael what had happened the night before, Michael listened and looked confused, he didn't remember anything after he got into the Car at the Pub, "Um…, Thanks, I guess" Michael mumbled once Luke was finished explaining, "It's nothing, I think anyone would have done it" Luke replied, "It wasn't fair on Ash" He added, Michael nodded, "I'm not going back to that place anymore" Michael said in reference to the takeaway where he had been the night before, "I don't know why you went there in the first place, it never looked good" Luke said, "I know, but, it was cheap and close by" Michael replied, Luke smiled and stood up to go into the kitchen, "Where did you get that bed from?" Michael asked as Luke began to wash his Cup out, "I got it from that place over by the river, it was on offer at the time, I've not tried it before" Luke explained, "What's it like?" He then asked," It's so comfortable, I didn't really want to get up, I wish I had one of them" Michael said, "Has anyone tried it out before, it had a worn in kind of feel, like it didn't feel completely new?" Michael asked, "Um…., Calum slept on it" Luke quickly answered, Michael instantly regretted asking, he didn't know how Luke felt about Calum as he never talked about it, "Oh…, ok" Michael said, completely lost on what to say next, that was followed by an awkward silence which was broken when Michael's phone began to buzz, "It's Ash" he said as he picked it up and began to talk to Ashton.

Michael was on the phone for a little while, "Luke?" he called out as Luke had moved into the kitchen, "Yeah" Luke called back, "Ash says that he and some of his work colleagues are going out for a meal tonight and he wants to know if we want to go" Michael explained, "Will that not be a bit weird?" Luke replied thinking that they might be a bit out of place since they didn't work in the shop, "He says that there are 20 of them going and that includes friends and things" Michael explained, "Ok then, I guess" Luke replied, "He says yes" was the next thing he heard Michael say. Once he was off the phone he explained to Luke that they were meeting up at the restaurant at 6 tonight, Luke said he'd be there once Michael explained where it and Michael saw it as a good chance to get going, not forgetting to thank Luke again for looking after him as he left for home.

Luke agreed to meet up with Michael before going to the restaurant as he didn't want to be the only one there when a group of strangers showed up and luckily Michael knew a couple of people that Ashton worked with so it wouldn't be as awkward. Michael had been visiting family through the day, something he wasn't planning on doing when he left Luke's in the morning but it just sort of happened, so instead of getting the underground and walking to his Flat they agreed it was easiest to meet up by the park as it was pretty much in the middle of where Michael and Luke were. In typical style Michael was late, leaving Luke sitting in the dimly lit park by himself, after 10 minutes Luke's patience ran out and he rang Michael, "Where are you?" Luke asked as soon as Michael answered the call, "I'm in the park, I was wondering where you were?" Michael asked back, "Where in the park?" Luke asked straight back, looking around, "Behind the hill at the back of the football pitch, by the benches" Michael replied, "That's where I am, but I can't see you" Luke replied, "Are you at the other end of the pitch?" Michael asked, "I'm at the end I said I would be at" Luke replied, "Walk up onto the hill and look down to the other end" Michael said, Luke followed his instructions and climbed up the hill, not something he wanted to do considering he was dressed for a meal and the hill was pretty much just a mud pile. When Luke got to the top he looked over and could see Michael standing in the same place at the other end of the football pitch waving frantically, Luke grabbed his phone and called him, "You come up here, it's closer to this end" Luke insisted, "No, it's quicker going this way" Michael replied, by this point Luke wasn't really in the mood to argue, his shoe's were ruined and socks were wet, "Ok, I'll come to you" Luke said as he ended the call and carefully made his way down the slope to bottom and made his way along towards Michael.

Luke soon arrived where Michael was waiting, "You didn't say you were bringing a friend" Michael said as Luke got close, Luke looked completely baffled and just laughed thinking he'd missed a joke or something, "Where did you get him from then?" Michael asked, Luke looked around but couldn't see anything, "What are you talking about?" Luke replied, completely confused by what Michael was saying, "The dog" He replied, Luke turned and looked down at his feet, there he saw a scruffy little dog, "Where the fuck did you come from?" Luke questioned looking at the dog, wondering how he hadn't noticed it while he'd been walking, "Come on Luke, we haven't really got time" Michael said looking at his phone and then looking up at Luke, who was still looking at the dog that had sat down behind him, "Ok" he mumbled, taking his gaze slowly from the dog and beginning to walk with Michael out of the park. Just as the left and began to cross the road Luke turned to see the dog sitting on the edge of the curb behind them, "Come on Luke" Michael said noticing that Luke had stopped, "Why are you following us?" Luke asked to the dog, "He's not going to answer" Michael said, "Well I know that, but you talk to dogs" Luke replied keeping his gaze on the dog, "He probably just got lost, his owner is probably out in the park right now looking for him" Michael said, "Got lost, what do you think the chances of that are?" Luke asked turning to face Michael, "Well, we couldn't find each other, now come on, we don't want to be late" Michael said, "We can't just leave him" Luke said, "Yes, yes we can" Michael said as he reached out and grabbed Luke's arm pulling him away from the road and in the direction they needed to go, "But…, but" Luke muttered but he gave in and didn't fight with Michael, he knew he was probably right, he normally is with things like this. 

The restaurant and meal was nice enough, Luke couldn't describe it as anything special but getting a booking for 23 people at such short notice on a Sunday can't have been easy. Everyone he met seemed nice enough, with Michael knowing some of them it made the conversations a little easier until Ashton showed up, he'd be stuck in traffic after a traffic lights failure but eventually turned up just after 6:30, just as everyone was ordering their main course. By about 9-9:30 people had started to leave, everyone left their contribution towards the final bill and the last person out was given the honor of settling it, that last person ended up being someone called Ian as he was staying for another round of drinks with 2 friends when Luke, Ashton and Michael decided to call it an night just after 10. Fortunately Ashton had been able to leave his car at a friend's house so he could have a drink with his meal, the plan was to collect it in the morning before work in the afternoon, this meant he could walk back with Michael and Luke and then catch the Underground back with Michael.

The walk back was unusual, Michael spent most of it trying to convince Luke that he should meet up with Ashton's work colleague Liam again because he was gay, single and had told Ashton that he liked Luke, "I think he'd be good for you" Michael said, "I'm not interested, I think that must be the 20th time I've told you that now, it's not going to happen" Luke replied, "Come on Luke, he's really nice, you seemed to get along really well" Michael said not taking the hint that Luke wasn't interested, "He's not really my type, I'm not saying he isn't nice and we did seem to get along really well, but, I'm not interested" Luke replied, "But this…." Michael said before Ashton cut him off, "I don't think Luke's really interested" he said as he turned around from in front of them both, Luke smiled at him knowing he must have been as irritated by Michael as he was. Soon enough Michael was bored and had his phone in his hand texting someone, "Ash…., do you think our downstairs neighbor would go on a date with me?" Michael asked, Ashton didn't even reply he just began to laugh uncontrollably, "What, what?" Michael asked quickly when Ashton began to laugh, "I don't even know where to began…., I don't think you've got much chance there, she's already seeing someone" Ashton replied as they crossed the road, Michael missed the curb and almost ended up flat out on the ground, "How do you know?" Michael asked, wondering how Ashton knew this and he didn't, "I talk to them sometimes when I'm working the morning in the shop because we go out at the same time, they seem really nice" Ashton explained, "Why do you ask?" he asked, "Well…., I saw her the other day when I was out with my friends and I might have told them that I was dating her" Michael explained, Ashton and Luke both burst out laughing, "You…, you…, you" Ashton muttered but he was unable to put 2 words together between the laugher, "Ok, it's not that funny" Michael said as he got annoyed at Luke and Ashton's laughter, "It really is, I don't…, I don't know why you say these things" Ashton said managing to almost overcome his laughter, "I don't know why I said it, but it made sense in my head at the time" Michael replied, then he noticed that Luke had stopped laughing, "What's up Luke?" he asked, noticing his attention had been take be something else, "Is that the dog we saw earlier?" Luke asked pointing to a dog sitting in a bus shelter on the other side of the road, Michael squinted so he could see, "Um…, yeah I think so" Michael replied, when he looked back Luke was already crossing the road, "Luke, what are you doing?" Michael asked as he followed Luke over the road with Ashton following him. As soon as Luke was near the bus shelter the dog jumped up and ran over to him, "Hello" Luke said as he crouched down and ran his hand through the dogs fur, "Luke, what are you doing?" Michael asked, repeating his question from a minute earlier, "I'm making sure he's alright" Luke replied as he continued to run his hand through the dogs fluffy white fur, which was more gray in some places because of the mud on it, "Come on, just leave him, he'll be fine" Michael said, "You've got a cold heart haven't you" Ashton said as he moved and crouched down next to Luke, "My heart isn't cold, but the rest of me is, can we please just go" Michael said, but no one was listening, "He hasn't got a tag or a collar" Luke said to Ashton, "He looks ok, he can’t have been out here more than a couple of days" Ashton said, "We can't just leave him out here, it's too cold" Luke said, "I know it's cold, I've just said, come on lets go" Michael said, Luke turned and glared up at him, "I'm gonna take him back to the Flat" Luke said, "You can't just take a dog" Michael muttered, "I'm not taking him, I'll look after him tonight and I'll report him missing tomorrow before we start Uni" Luke replied, "Good idea" Ashton said, "You'll need something to feed him" he added, "Um…, where is open at this time on a Sunday?" Luke asked, "Nowhere" Michael said, sounding more than a little pissed off that they were still in the same place and weren't paying any attention to what he way saying, "I know someone who lives nearby that has a dog, I'll just call them" Ashton said as he wandered away from Luke and Michael to make the call, "Do you have a problem with me taking the dog in for the night?" Luke asked looking up at Michael, "Well…, no, I just want to get home, but I think it's weird" Michael replied, "Do you not like dogs?" Luke asked, "I like dogs, Mam and Dad have a one, well, we have one, it was a family dog but they always looked after it, I only had to look after it when they went on holiday" Michael explained as Ashton wandered back, "Right, I need to go and get some things, do you two want to head back to your flat and wait, I'll be 20 minutes" Ashton said pointing at Luke, "Ok, we'll meet you there" Luke replied as they split and went in different directions, the dog sticking close to Luke's feet which was lucky because he didn't have a lead for him.

The dog had no problem following Luke and Michael back to Luke's flat, Once Luke had unlocked the door and stepped inside with Michael however the Dog sat at outside an stared at them both, "Come on" Luke said as he waved his hand for the Dog to follow them inside, "I don't think he wants to come in" Michael muttered as he took his jacket off and hung it up, "Come on" Luke said again crouching down so he was nearly on the same level as the dog, there was no response so Luke reached over and picked him up, "Come on then, let's get you in the bath" Luke muttered as he closed the door behind him, "Do you need a hand?" Michael asked, "No, I've done it before, we've got a dog at home" Luke said, "Although you could go and make some coffee" Luke added, "Ok" Michael replied as he wandered into the kitchen while Luke went into the bathroom. 

Soon enough Ashton showed up carrying a bag which contained a selection of Dog things, "Where's Luke?" he asked as he walked into the living room and found Michael sitting by himself, "He's washing the dog in the bathroom" Michael replied, "Right" Ashton said, just about to go and offer Luke his help when the door opened and Luke appeared from the bathroom with a much cleaner looking dog, "Hi Ash" Luke said as the dog ran over and jumped on the Sofa next to Michael, "He a bundle of joy isn't he" Ashton said as Luke walked over and examined the bag Ashton had brought with him, "I got some food, treats, toys and a lead" Ashton explained as Luke began to pull everything out, the minute he pulled the treats out the dog jumped off the sofa and ran over, "I guess he's hungry" Luke said as he pulled the dog food from the bag, "Oh, there is a bowl in there as well" Ashton said, "Where did you get all of this?" Luke asked as he poured some of the food into the bowl, "I know someone who has 3 dogs, so I was sure they'd have some spare stuff, there all rescue dogs as well so I didn't think they'd mind letting me have some essentials" Ashton explained, as Luke placed the bowl down on the floor and the dog quickly began to eat from it, "It's almost like when Michael get's a Pizza" Ashton said and began to laugh with Luke, Michael wasn't listening and was oblivious to the whole thing.

The 3 of them sat around for a while talking about nothing in particular, "So what are you going to do with him?" Ashton asked, "I don't know" Luke said looking over at the Dog that had settled down on the floor in corner next to the TV, "I'll go and report him tomorrow, I guess someone must be looking for him" Luke added, "And if not?" Michael asked, "I'm not sure, I don't know if I need a Dog" Luke replied, "Yeah, they can be a lot of work" Ashton replied, "Especially since you have Uni through the week and then a job on a Friday and Saturday" he added, "I guess I'll just have to see what happens" Luke replied, "I think we should get going Ash, Me and Luke have Uni in the morning and you have to go and get your Car" Michael said as he looked at his phone which told him it was nearly midnight, "Ok. I guess I'll see you later in the week or something Luke" Ashton said as he stood up and made his way out of the room, "Yeah, I'll see you tomorrow Michael" Luke said as they both made their way out leaving Luke alone with the Dog.

Michael called around the next morning to Luke's as he always did on his way to Uni but there was no answer which was a first, he was unsure where Luke would have been but he didn't have time to waste looking for him as he had to get to Uni for the first lecture of the day. Michael sat through the morning lecture expecting Luke to walk in at any minute but he didn't, he didn't show up for the second lecture of the day either, so by lunch time Michael was concerned, this wasn't like Luke, if he was ever going to be late for anything he always sent him a text telling him what was going on. The first afternoon lecture passed over and there was still no sign of Luke, now when people were asking where he was Michael just said he wasn't feeling very well this morning, he couldn't say he was really ill just in case he showed up. Michael took the break between the 2 afternoon lectures to call Ashton and see if he knew anything, "Hey Ash" Michael said as Ashton answered his call, "Michael, I'm at work" Ashton replied, "I know, but I wanted to see if you'd heard from Luke?" Michael asked, "Why?" Ashton asked back, "Well I haven't seen him today and he hasn't text to say he's gone somewhere" Michael replied, "I haven't heard from him but he did say he was going to report the Dog this morning, but I don't know where he would have gone after that" Ashton explained, "Have you tried texting or calling him?" Ashton asked, "Yeah, I've called him twice and sent him 5 messages, his phone isn't even ringing it just says it is unavailable and he hasn't replied to any of my texts" Michael explained, "I'm sure it's nothing, he's probably just gotten caught up with the Dog and he'll probably text you when he gets a moment" Ashton replied sensing that Michael was concerned about Luke from the tone in his voice, "I Just worry because he hasn't been right for a while now, I mean, you know Luke he's always up for talking about anything, but lately he's been a bit reserved" Michael replied, "I mean ever since that night, I think that's when it started" he added, "What night?" Ashton asked, "That night at the underground station, the one with Calum" Michael replied, "Oh" Ashton said realizing how stupid he'd been not remembering, "I mean, we don't even know what happened to Calum, he never told us that. Now that's not like Luke, he tells us everything" Michael said, "I assume they just didn't talk to each other" Ashton replied, "No, when I slept on Luke's new bed in the spare room I commented that I didn't feel completely new and he said Calum had slept on it, nothing more but he said that" Michael replied, "Strange" was the only word that Ashton could think to describe Luke's actions, "I know, I think we should just try and get him out of his Flat more, now that he has that job he only really has Sunday off and he hardly ever does anything, normally he just watches the TV or something" Michael explained, "He came out last night and the night before" Ashton commented, "You know that was a rare occasion, I had to work hard to get him out of his Flat on Saturday and I'm sure he only said yes yesterday because I was actually stood next to him when I asked" Michael replied, "Ok, maybe he just likes to spend his time inside on Sundays" Ashton said, "I think we need to get him out and get him to meet someone, he needs a distraction, someone in his life" Michael said, "But he didn't really take to kindly to your attempts last night" Ashton replied, "I've just got to find him the right guy" Michael replied, "I should get going" Ashton said as his manager started looking for him, "I've been away from the desk for too long" he added, "Ok, I guess I'll just wait and see what happens" Michael replied, "Right, catch you later" Ashton said as he ended the call. Michael sent Luke another text message and placed his phone back in his pocket, before pushing himself up from his chair, when he turned around the door swung open and Luke walked in, hair out of place, shirt ruffled, but most noticeable was the black eye he had, "What the fuck happened to you?" Michael asked.


	11. Wonder Sleeps Here

For the first time that he could remember, Luke was ready to leave work on time on a Friday night, there was no extra work to be done, no late in the day phone calls to answer, no managers wanting to speak to the department at 16:57, so when the clock hit 17:00 he grabbed his bag and headed for the door and ran down the stairs, he knew if he was quick he could slip past the receptionists without having to have a long conversation about a topic he wasn't interested in, there was that and he was sure the new junior in admin, which is next to the exit, had a crush on him, which is flattering but if he started talking he forgot to stop and before Luke knew it he'd been talking for half an hour and tonight he didn't want any of that.

Luke got lucky and bypassed everyone without being noticed, even when the automatic doors slid open no one noticed and when he turned around there was a large crowd of people already heading for the door so he knew he wouldn't be seen by the Admin department. Looking around when he got outside Luke spotted something he wasn't expecting, stood by the wall at the end of the car park was Michael, Luke was slightly confused as he wasn't sure how he knew where he worked, but he guessed there must be a reason he was standing there. Luke walked over and caught Michael by surprise as he was staring at his phone, "Hey Michael" Luke said causing the blond boy the jump, "Hey Luke" Michael said clutching his phone after he nearly dropped it, "What going on with the hair?" Luke asked as it had changed color again, "I thought that I would try black again, but I didn't really like it, so I'm blond now" Michael explained, "Oh, ok" Luke replied, he didn't really understand why Michael kept changing his hair color but he never really got around to asking, "So why are you here and how did you know where I worked?" Luke asked, "I remembered you talking about the company and I guessed you must be at the head office, so it was kind of a guess" Michael replied, "And you’re here…..why?" Luke asked again, "In case you forgot, it's my birthday and you said you'd be coming round for a few drinks" Michael said, Luke did agree to this but that had been weeks ago, "Oh…, yeah" Luke hesitantly replied, "That didn't sound very convincing" Michael replied, "It's just, well, I really need to get home" Luke replied, Michael was confused, he'd never known Luke want to go home so urgently, "Can we walk and talk then?" Michael asked and Luke nodded as they began to cross the road.

As they made their way through the maze of backstreets Michael enquired as to why Luke was in such a rush to get home, "Is there a reason you need to get home so quickly?" he asked, "Well, I didn't want to say anything, but…, the people from the Dog shelter want to come out and assess me and the flat to see if we are suitable for a Dog" Luke replied, suddenly Michael's confused look was replaced with a smile, "That's great news Luke, but why didn't you want to tell me?" Michael asked, "I wanted it to be a surprise and didn't want to jinx it" Luke replied, Michael nodded, "I understand now. So are they coming tonight?" Michael asked, "No, tomorrow morning between 9-10" Luke replied, "So the rush to get home?" Michael enquired, "I need to get the place tidied up" Luke replied, "Ah, well, what if I give you a hand, then will you come around for a few drinks, just….., well we asked a few people around but it wouldn't be right without you there?" Michael asked, "Luke pulled his phone out and took a look at the time, "I guess so" he replied, with that Michael jogged ahead of him, "Well come on then" he said motioning for Luke to hurry up, he just shook his head and smiled.

Soon enough Michael and Luke arrived at the flat, "Luke, it's not even messy" Michael said as he walked into the living room, "I knew it wouldn't be, I don't think I've ever seen this place a mess" he added, Luke looked at him, "You don't think this is a mess?" Luke asked, "No, you've seen my room, now that is a mess" Michael replied, Luke remembered Michael's room in his Uni flat and how it always looked like a hurricane had just blown through, "Well, I think this is a mess" he said picking some of the books up off the floor and placing them on the table, "It's not going to take long to make it look clean, we just need to move some things around" Michael said as he moved the coffee cup off the table, "I just want it to be perfect" Luke said as he unplugged his laptop and carried it into his bedroom, "Are you excited about getting the Dog back?" Michael asked as he stacked Luke's PS3 games up next to his TV, "Yeah" Luke replied as he wandered back into the room, "We aren't going to have anymore accidents like the last time are we?" Michael said with a smile on his face, "What do you mean?" Luke asked, "You know when you fell over his lead?" Michael asked, "Oh…, he caught me off guard" Luke replied, "When you walked into Uni that day I thought you'd been in a fight, you looked a total mess and that's not like you, your always so well presented" Michael said making Luke turn a bit red, "Well you are" he added, "I guess if I didn't have my bag in my hand I would have been able to stop myself smacking my head off that park bench and getting that black eye" Luke replied, "You might not have had to pay £140 to get your laptop screen fixed either" Michael said, "It cushioned my fall, if it hadn't been there I might have broken my hip as well" Luke replied, "Luke, your 19 not 90, I doubt you'd have broken your hip" Michael said causing Luke to laugh, "You never know" Luke replied as he grabbed a brush and swept across the kitchen floor, "Are you nearly done, because I am" Michael said as he watched Luke, "But you haven't done anything" Luke replied, "That's because there wasn't anything to do. If they come in here and think it's a mess then there is something wrong with them. Now go and get changed, you're going to come out and have a good night and forget about this messy place" Michael said as he stepped forward and took the brush from Luke's hand.

Michael waited for Luke to take a shower and get ready for to head out to his and Ashton's flat for a few drinks, while he was waiting he received a text from Ashton, 'Where are you? People are already here', Michael could still hear Luke in the shower so knew they would be a little while, 'I'm at Luke's, he's in the shower now' Michael replied and waited for Ashton's reply, 'I've ordered some Pizza's, I've paid can you get them on the way back?' Ashton asked with his next message, 'Yeah, I'll get Luke to help me carry them' Michael replied as he heard the shower switch off, "Luke, We need to get some Pizza's on the way to the flat" Michael shouted, "Ok, I'll hurry up" Luke replied, the reply put a smile on Michael's face as he knew he would get his Pizza sooner.

Luckily the Pizza wasn't too far off when they got off the underground, "It so much quieter on a night time down there" Michael said referring to their trip on the underground, "Do you not ride at night?" Luke asked, "No, I normally just catch a taxi" Michael replied, "Oh, I thought you would just ride back" Luke said as they made their way to collect the Pizza. When they arrived at the Pizzeria there order was still being finished, "Sorry about your wait, we have taken 10% off the price of the order because of the time it has taken" the woman behind the desk said when Michael asked if the order was ready yet, "Thank you, it's really no problem though" Michael said as he sat down with Luke next to the window, "It's getting cold outside" Luke said as he looked out, "It is November" Michael replied, "Well I know that, but it wasn't this cold last week" Luke said, "I know and now it's raining" Michael said as he looked past Luke who had turned back around, "So we're going to get wet" Luke said as he looked outside, "Looks like it" Michael said as there order was called out, "That's us" Luke said as they both stood up and went to collect their order, "All of these?" Luke asked as he looked at the pile of boxes in front of him, the woman behind the desk nodded, "How much fucking pizza did he order" Michael remarked as he grabbed some of the boxes and left the rest for Luke, "We'll refund the money onto the card the order was paid for on" the woman said, "Ok, thanks" Michael said as he left followed closely by Luke, "Your plan to get these back dry?" Luke asked as they stood under the store sign to keep dry, "Taxi?" Michael asked, "Ok" Luke replied as Michael carefully reached into his pocket while balancing the Pizza in the other and called for a taxi, luckily there was one close by and they only waited a couple of minutes before they were on their way.

When they arrived they were greeted by a group of people stood in the rain by the door, "Do you know them?" Luke asked as they stepped out of the taxi, "Yeah, they are some of Ash's friends" Michael said as he paid the taxi driver and ran over to the door, "Why are you outside" he asked as he approached, "There's no answer and the door is locked" one of them replied, "Fucking hell Ash" Michael mumbled as he handed one of them the Pizza and grabbed his key from his pocket and opened the door, when he did he was instantly hit with the sound of Green Day coming from upstairs, "Come on, get in" he said as the group pounded past and up the stairs, the last one in was Luke, who was soaked and was still carrying the Pizza, "Sorry about that" Michael said as Luke took his jacket off the Pizza boxes as he'd placed it there to keep them dry, "It's ok, it's just rain" Luke said as he followed Michael upstairs where they found Ashton talking with some people who had arrived earlier, "Hey Luke" He said as they walked in, "Just drop them over there" he added as he pointed to the table where the other boxes of Pizza had been dropped by whoever Michael had given them to, "Ok" Luke replied as Michael approached Ashton, "Don't lock the fucking door" Michael said, "Oh…., sorry, I didn't know I had" Ashton replied, "Beer?" He said as he grabbed one off the table and quickly held it in front of Michael, "Sure" Michael said, looking instantly calmer, "Luke, here" Ashton said as he through a bottle in his direction, luckily Luke could catch from those years he spent playing cricket when he was young.

Having a few friends around soon turned into a house party as more and more people arrived and soon it hard to get moved around the flat and by 11 Luke was ready to leave, he knew he had to be up early the next day, he tried to find Ashton or Michael to tell them that he was leaving but struggled as there was just too many people. Eventually he stumbled into Michael who was at the top of the stairs talking to someone Luke half recognized, "I'm gonna head off" Luke said, "Sure you can't stay a little longer?" Michael asked, Luke was surprised he had expected him to be drunk by now but he was strangely sober "You know I'm busy in the morning, I don't want to mess it up, I've already taken the day off work" Luke replied, "Ok, I understand" Michael replied, "Look, these guys are heading your way, I'd feel better if you walked with them" Michael said, Luke looked at him confused, "I didn't know you cared" Luke said with a smirk on his face, "Go home Luke" Michael replied laughing. Luke knew a couple of the people in the group Michael had pointed to so waited 5 minutes until they left and tagged along with them.

Luke made casual conversation with the group as they walked along, trying their best to keep dry as the rain from earlier hadn't stopped yet. They all stopped off to get some coffee on along the way, Luke didn't really want any but the thought of a warm and dry shop was too much and he went in anyway. When they came back out, if anything the rain was harder than it had been when they went in, but the underground was only 5 minutes walk from where they were, "If I'd known I'd have brought a bigger jacket" one of the guys said as they crossed the road and jumped over the puddles that had formed at the side. Luke wasn't paying much attention to anything apart from trying to keep as dry as possible, but one thing did catch his eye as he hopped over 2 puddles and that was the person sitting in the doorway just off to the side, the person themselves wouldn't have grabbed Luke's attention but the jacket they were wearing was one Luke recognized as he believed it to be one that he used to own, more specifically the one he gave to Calum the last time he saw him, he thought about stopping but the crowd he was with we walking on and the area they were in wasn't somewhere Luke really wanted to be by himself so he took a final quick look back and carried on towards the Underground station.

After saying his goodbye's Luke headed down the stairs and into the station to catch his train, but when he got down the gates were closed and he was greeted by a sign 'Due to flooding on the line all Underground services are cancelled for the rest of the night' the notice read, "Great" Luke muttered to himself before turning around and heading back up the stairs. Once Luke had made his way out of the station he looked for the nearest bus stop and checked that there was a bus going where he needed to be, there was, but he'd just missed one and it was 20 minutes until the next one. Sitting in the bus stop gave Luke time to think and all he could think about was the person he had passed a few minutes earlier sitting in the doorway, he knew there was a chance that he was jumping to conclusions to think that it was Calum or that the Jacket was the one that he had given him, but he knew the jacket would be rare as he had brought it over with him at after Christmas and it wasn't something he'd been able to get while he was over here, then he started to think about the person that had the jacket, it was hard to see their face in the short space of time Luke had to look but it could have been Calum, it was the right height to be him and the hair color was right from what Luke saw sticking out from underneath the hood that was covering his head. 

Luke rested against the back of the bus shelter he was sat in and looked up at the clear roof over his head and watched the rain fall on it while he contemplated what to do, he was in 2 minds as for the first time in months he was enjoying things again and with the possibility of getting the dog back he knew things were still looking up, but while he didn't want to ruin things he felt he needed to know if it was in fact Calum sitting in that doorway, because if it was then something had clearly gone wrong since the last time they had seen each other. Luke watched as the Bus he needed pulled around the corner and approached the stop, but he let it pass as his need to know for sure about Calum was greater than his need to get home, he knew if he didn't he would always wonder about what might have happened, so he zipped his jacket up, pulled his hood over his head and headed back out into the rain.


	12. Hope For The Best

Walking around an area he didn't know looking for someone who may or may not be Calum wasn't the way Luke had imagined he would be spending his Friday night, or Saturday morning as it now was. The rain was just as hard now as it had been all night and it was difficult for Luke to keep himself out of it, despite his best efforts there just weren't enough shop signs and overhanging roof's to keep out of it. Luke made his way up some dimly lit streets trying to remember the way he had just walked, he wasn't use to the route as it wasn't the one he usually used, eventually though he came across a street sign he remembered and knew he was on the right street but when he got to the doorway where Calum had been there was no sign of him, Luke took a quick look around but still couldn't see him. Felling slightly stupid for wasting his time Luke decided to grab a coffee for the shop they had been in before and then get a taxi home. After grabbing his coffee Luke called for a taxi and waited for it to come, taking shelter underneath the shop sign until it arrived, while he waited he spotted the guy he had seen earlier stumbling down the side of the shop into a backstreet, he decided to catch up and see if it was Calum, "Hey" Luke said as he approached, "Calum" he added but there was no reply but Luke could tell by the way he walked that it was Calum, "Calum" Luke said again this time close enough to place his hand on his shoulder, when he did the guy swung around and hit Luke to the ground sending his coffee flying, "Calum" Luke said as he looked up to see the guy walking away, "It's Luke" he added, with that Calum stopped and looked back, "Luke?" he inquired, "Yes" Luke replied as he pushed himself up off the ground, nothing was hurting but his clothes were ruined from the mud and rain, "What are you doing out here?" Calum asked, "I was going to ask you the same question?" Luke replied as he dusted himself down trying to get some of the dirt off his jeans, "I'm always out here" Calum said, "You weren't the last time I saw you" Luke replied as Calum slowly walked back towards him, "Yeah, well…., shit happens" Calum said, "I'm sorry about this" he added, "Why did you swing at me like that?" Luke asked, "I didn't know who you were" Calum replied as he came into the light in front of Luke who immediately noticed the fat lip and cuts on his face, "What happened to you?" Luke asked, "Can we not talk about it" Calum said, before Luke had the chance to question him there was the sound of a horn from behind him, when he looked there was a taxi waiting at the end of the street, "Is that for you?" Calum asked, "Yeah" Luke replied, that was followed by a few seconds of silence, "Do you want to come back with me?" Luke asked, Calum stood for a little while thinking, then he nodded, "Please. I mean…, if it's ok since I did just try and knock you out?" Calum asked, "Since you didn't, I guess you're ok" Luke replied with a reassuring smile, then he turned and walked down to his taxi followed by Calum.

Soon enough they were back at Luke's flat, Calum was sat on the Sofa and Luke was in the kitchen getting him a glass of water, "Here" Luke said as he handed over the glass of water he'd poured, "Thanks" Calum said with a little smile as he took the glass and drank it down in one go, "Do you want some more?" Luke asked, Calum shook his head as he handed the glass back and Luke placed it down on the table, "Are you not cold?" Luke asked as Calum was dripping wet from the rain, "Always" Calum replied, then Luke realized it was a slightly stupid question, "Why don't you go and take a shower and I'll get you some dry clothes?" Luke asked, Calum shook his head, "I just want to sleep" Calum replied, Luke wasn't surprised as he had fallen asleep in the taxi twice on the way back, "Ok, well, you can go into the spare room, like you did last time and I'll leave you some clothes outside the door for you in the morning" Luke said, Calum smiled and pushed himself up off the Sofa, "Thanks Luke" he said as he got to the door and turned around, Luke didn't say anything he just looked up and smiled, then Calum left the room and wandered along and into the spare room. Luke waited a while before he gathered some clothes from his room and dropped them outside the spare room, on top of them he left a note telling Calum he could use the shower, once he'd done that he decided to call it a night, he knew things were going to be complicated in the morning but he was too tired to think about it now, so he locked up and headed to bed.

Luke woke up in the morning to the sound of water, but the difference this time was it was coming from the bathroom and not the roof, after a brief second when he wondered why the shower was on everything was ok when he realized that it was Calum and he smiled to himself as he'd clearly taken heed of the note he had left for him. Luke carried on with his morning as normal, changing his clothes and styling his hair so it was flicked over to the side before heading into the kitchen and making himself a cup of coffee, but making sure to make Calum one as well for when he came out of the shower, he wasn't sure if Calum drank coffee, he couldn't remember if he'd ever offered him one it had been so long.

After 10 minutes Calum emerged from the bathroom with his old pile of clothes in his hand, "Morning" Luke said as he looked at him, he couldn't help but notice how wild his hair looked or how scruffy his face was as his facial hair was starting to grow too long to hide, there was a selection of bruises and scars down both of his arms, he surmised that some of them were self inflicted and there was a large bruise right down the side of Calum's foot and right up to his ankle, "Morning" Calum mumbled in reply as Luke stood up and grabbed the clothes from Calum's hands, "I don't know if we can save any of these, there pretty worn out" Luke muttered to himself as he looked through what he had taken from Calum, it was all the clothes he had given him months ago, clearly Calum's life hadn't improved since they last met was all Luke was thinking as he dropped the clothes on the floor, "I'll have a look at them later" he said as he returned to the sofa he had been sat on before Calum walked in, "You can sit down…, I poured you a Coffee" Luke said as he could see Calum was nervous and didn't know what to do, "Um…, thanks" Calum said, well it was more of a low mumble, Luke could only hear part of it. 

Calum was nervously drinking his coffee, if that's even possible, until Luke broke the silence that had descended on the room, "You look like you've been in the wars a bit, are you ok?" he asked, he could see the topic wasn't something Calum really wanted to talk about from the way he reacted, a simple nod was the only motion Calum managed as he shuffled back into the sofa, "I know you probably don't want to talk about it but I'd like to know what's been happening with you" Luke said, he didn't get any reply from Calum who looked like he'd rather not be in the situation he found himself in, "I'm sorry, if you don't want to talk then that's ok" Luke said, seeing that he wasn't going to get anywhere, "No…., I'm sorry" Calum muttered much to the surprise of Luke, "Why?" Luke asked, "Cause I hit you last night" Calum replied, Luke didn't think that the apology was completely necessary as he had already apologized for it, "It doesn't matter, it's just a fat lip" Luke replied, he desperately wanted to start signing the Sum 41 song of the same name but he realized that now probably wasn't the right time, "It should matter, I don't know why you bother with me when I do things like that" Calum said, Luke was getting use to the way Calum always hated himself for doing what he did, "I understand why you hit me, you don't have to apologize for it anymore" Luke said with a smile, then the conversation died as Calum had nothing else to say, he had never been the most talkative when Luke had met him previously and clearly nothing had changed since. 

Luke didn't have a lot to do around the flat but he made things up as he went as he felt it was just best to leave Calum by himself for a little while, even though he knew he really need to talk to him and with a look at the time on his phone he realized he needed to do it soon. Luke left things for as long as he could and by the time he got around to sitting down with Calum he knew that at any moment there could be a knock on the door, "So how are you feeling?" Luke asked as he sat down and looked at Calum who'd hardly moved since they had talked briefly earlier, "I'm ok" Calum replied, Luke felt better now that Calum wasn't shaking like he had been when they came back last night, "I have something a bit strange to ask" Luke said, Calum flicked his head up and looked at Luke, the first time Luke could remember him looking at him so intensely, then he nodded, "Do you like dogs?" Luke then asked, Calum smiled slightly, clearly he'd been worried about the question Luke was going to ask, "I do" he replied, even when he was slightly more positive he still seemed unhappy with his answers, then just as Luke was about to explain why he'd asked there was a knock on the door, "Um…." Luke mumbled, he didn't have time to explain and Calum was looking nervous about who was at the door, "Can you just go with this for a while?" Luke asked, he'd never seem anyone looking as nervous as Calum was when he looked at him, "I'll explain it all later, I promise" Luke said as Calum nodded at his promise, it was all a mess for Luke, he didn't know what was happening with Calum and before he had the chance to find out he had this, he didn't know how things were going to go, all he could do was hope for the best.


	13. Breaking The Habit

Luke opened his front door and was greeted by a woman, "Luke Hemmings?" she asked, "Yeah" Luke replied, "Hi, we are from the dog's trust" she explained, "Yeah, I got a call to say you were coming" Luke replied, "Good, we don't like to show up unannounced" she said with a laugh as a man appeared with the dog on a lead, who was pretty excited to see Luke as he was trying to jump up at him, "Hey little guy, how are you?" Luke asked, although he could see he looked great, much better than when he had left him with the warden, "May we come in?" the guy asked, "Yeah, just go through" Luke replied as they stepped in and made their way down into the living room while Luke shut the door and followed them down, "This is Calum…., he's a friend" Luke said as he walked into the room where they were already standing, "Hi" Calum said as he raised his hand to wave, Luke was seriously nervous, by himself he knew he could cope but he had no idea how things were going to go with Calum being here, it wasn't something he'd ever considered, "Can I let him off his lead?" the guy asked, Luke quickly glanced at Calum who gave a little smile, "Yeah, no problem" Luke replied, knowing that Calum was ok with it.

The minute the dog was off his lead Luke knew everything was good as he completely avoided him and ran straight for Calum and jumped up on the sofa next to him, "Hello, who are you?" Calum asked, taking Luke completely by surprise because Calum looked so happy as he put on a voice Luke had never heard before as he spoke to the dog, "We've been calling him RJ down at the shelter, some of the kids named him on a school visit" the woman explained, "Hey RJ, you seem like a happy dog" Calum said, still talking in the silly voice he'd started using. Eventually Luke managed to get RJ away from Calum so he could spend some time with him, he wasn't sure what these 2 people watching were thinking, even though it did matter Luke didn't let it bother him, he wasn't going to pretend to be anything he wasn't. After a while and after they'd asked Luke some questions the man and the woman asked for RJ to be placed back on his lead, Luke immediately took this as a bad sign, "Ok, well, I think we've seen enough" the woman said as she looked over to her colleague who nodded at her, "Luke, I see no reason why you couldn't look after RJ. I can see that you interact very well with him and I think you'll be able to spend enough time with him and look after him with no problem, especially with friends like Calum" She explained as she looked over a Calum, "He seemed pretty taken with you" she said to Calum who smiled, "I love dogs" he replied, "I could tell" she said, "We'll need to go back and fill some change of ownership forms in, but once they are completed you'll be able to come and pick RJ up" she added, "Ow, wow, great. any idea when that'll be?" Luke asked, trying not to seem too eager but failing miserably "It doesn't normally take any longer than 5-10 days, but we'll call you when it's all sorted" she explained, Luke was surprised at how little time it was going to take, "Great, I can't wait" Luke said, he was struggling to keep the smile on his face under control as he was so excited, "We best get going and get this guy back for his lunch" the guy who was holding RJ said, "Yeah…, I guess we'll see you guys again" the woman added, "It was great meeting you both" she said, as she did Calum smiled and waved as they made their way out, Luke escorted them out and wished them a safe trip back as he closed the door behind them, as the door shut he turned and rested against the wall and let out a huge sigh of relief that it was over.

Luke stayed propped up against the wall for a minute then he remembered that he still had the small matter of Calum to deal with, he still didn't know what was going on there, so he composed himself and made his way back into the living room where Calum was still sitting. He made himself and Calum a coffee in the kitchen before sitting down opposite Calum and handing him the drink he had just made, "Thanks" Calum replied, even with that one word he seemed much more open that he had been before this morning's events, "I'm sorry about that, I should have explained but I just ran out of time" Luke said as he sipped coffee from his cup, "You shouldn't be sorry, you've knew that was happening, you didn't know I would be here" Calum replied, "I always end up being in the way wherever I am" he added, starting to slip back into the self loathing manner in which he had always spoken in, "You don't need to talk about yourself like that, you weren't in the way, if anything you helped, they seemed happier knowing that I know people who loved dogs as much as I do" Luke said, "I've always liked dogs, I always wanted to own one but my parents told me I wasn't old enough and then…., well" Calum stopped there, Luke understood why, he knows it must be hard for Calum to think about his parents after all these years without a family, "You know Calum, when I get RJ back I'm gonna need some help looking after him….., it'd be great if you'd stick around and help me out, I mean…, only if you want to" Luke mumbled, Calum looked like he didn't know what to say, "You seemed to love RJ and he seemed to like you as well, obviously not as much as he liked me, but still" Luke added, Calum couldn't help but smile at Luke's comment, it lightened the mood which had fallen down after RJ had gone, "I don't want to be a burden on you, Luke, but I really do like being here" Calum said, it was the first time he had admitted out loud that liked being in Luke's flat, "If you're really sure about it, then…., I guess I'd like to stay" Calum mumbled, Luke was so happy that Calum had finally decided to stay, after all these months trying it had finally happened, "If you want me to leave though at any time all you have to do is say" Calum added quickly after, "I'm sure I won't but thanks for the heads up" Luke replied with a huge smile on his face, he couldn't disguise the joy he was feeling inside, "Calum…., there is one thing" Luke said, at that moment the smile that had almost appeared over Calum's face slowly faded away, "What is it?" Calum asked, "I have something for you, it's got a story attached to it and I should have given them to you last time I saw you but you threw me when you said you wanted to leave, so I thought I'd have them ready this time" Luke explained as he reached his hand into the jeans pocket and produced 2 gold rings attached to a silver chain, when he spotted them Calum face was filled with confusion, he didn't know how to feel, but when he looked up at Luke who was now standing in front of him all he could see was his smile as he reached his arm out and handed Calum his parents rings back.

Calum looked confused as he looked at the rings that were now in his hand, Luke had sat back down on the sofa opposite and neither had said a word, Calum couldn't he was in shock, this was the last thing he was expecting to happen and Luke was slightly confused as he thought Calum would be happy, but he didn't look happy at all, he looked more angry than happy, "Are you ok?" Luke asked, he was worried he'd done something wrong as Calum hadn't spoken or given any kind of reply since he'd handed them over and the feeling of joy he felt when Calum agreed to stay was all but gone and it was only a couple of minutes since it had happened, then Calum looked up at him and then back down at his hand before looking over at him again, then a smile came over his face, "Yeah, I'm ok" Calum said and all the worry that had built inside of Luke vanished, then Calum stood up and walked over to Luke, knelt down in front of him so they were at the same height and wrapped his arms around him, "Thank you" he said as he held him tightly, Luke placed his hand on Calum's back but didn't hold to tightly as he felt a tear drop on his shoulder, but just as he was about to say something his phone began to ring and Calum broke off from him, using the sleeve on his t-shirt to quickly dry his eyes, if he was hoping Luke hadn't noticed he'd already failed, "What do you want?" Luke said as he looked at his phone to see it was a call from Michael, "Hi Michael" Luke muttered as he answered the call, annoyed that the call had spoiled the moment he was having with Calum who was sat back where he had been all morning looking on as Luke listened closely to what Michael was saying, "So you need me to go with you?" Luke asked then he listened again, "I don't blame him, but if you need someone to go with you I guess I can come along" Luke said, this was followed by more silence, "It's supposed to be my day off you know" Luke said, he waited as Michael continued to speak, "Ok, half an hour, right, I'll be ready. Ok, bye" Luke said as he placed the phone back down on the table, "Michael's going to some comic book convention that's only on this weekend and he wants someone to go with, Ashton said no, so it looks like I'm going" Luke explained before Calum had even asked what the call was about, "What do you want me to do?" Calum asked, Luke was perplexed by the question, "Do?" Luke asked, "I don't want you to do anything" he added, "I mean, like do you want me to go somewhere while you aren't here or…" Calum didn't finish before Luke interrupted, "I don't want you to go anywhere, you can stay here by yourself, I'll only be gone a few hours" Luke said, "I just didn't know if you'd want to leave me alone here by myself self while you were gone" Calum replied, "Of course you can stay by yourself, if you want to steal the valuables then there in a draw in my room" Luke said raising a smile, "I do trust you Calum, I wouldn't ask you to stay here if I didn't" he added, Calum smiled back and nodded, "I think I'm gonna take a shower, don't really want to go out covered in dog" Luke joked as he made his way into the bathroom, "You can put the TV on if you want or get something to eat or something" Luke said just as he was about the close the bathroom door, "Ok" Calum shouted back just in time for Luke to hear as the door closed and he turned the water on.

Luke was soon standing out by the underground station where he had agreed to meet up with Michael waiting for him to appear, which eventually he did, "Hey Luke" he said in his usual upbeat manner, "Hey, how you doing?" Luke asked as he walked over towards him, "I'm good. You?" Michael replied, "Yeah, I'm good. so where are we going?" Luke asked as they walked as close to the wall as possible to keep out of the rain, "Comic book convention" Michael replied, "How come you haven't mentioned this before?" Luke asked, "I didn't see the point as Ash was going to come with me, but, he's a bit hungover this morning so I thought I'd ask you" Michael replied, "Second choice" Luke joked, "Yeah, always" Michael replied as they continued up towards a store that Luke could see was covered in colorful signs and bright lights. When they arrived and walked in Luke was surprised to see just how many people where there, "How can it be a convention if it's just one store? Aren't these things normally huge?" Luke asked, "It's across a few stores, this is just one of them" Michael replied, "Oh" Luke muttered as he followed Michael deeper into the store. 

The longer he was there the more out of place Luke began to feel, this wasn't the type of place he liked to be, crowded places were never good for him, he always knew he was only one word away from saying something wrong, that’s probably why he looked so awkward and following Michael around didn't help, he was quite loud whenever he spoke and people were always looking, although just for now he didn't stand out because of his hair, it seemed the normal thing to do was to dye your hair before you came to one of these conventions, "Hey, Luke, look over here" Michael shouted, Luke wasn't sure why he needed to shout since he was only about 20 feet away, so he made his way over, "Yeah" Luke said faking his interest in whatever it was Michael was looking at, "I've never seen this one before" Michael said as he picked up a comic from The Walking Dead, "Is it rare?" Luke asked, he was glad Michael liked The Walking Dead, it was something Luke could at least offer an opinion as he'd seen most of the TV show so he knew some of the characters, "I don't know, I think I'm gonna buy it though" Michael said as he slipped past Luke and headed for the desk. Luke thought his day might be over after Michael bought something in the first store but he was wrong as they spent the next 4 hours trailing from store to store looking at hundreds of comics, some of which Michael eventually bought but after the 18th store Luke was glad to hear Michael say they had been to them all, "I'm not gonna lie, I'm glad we've done all of them" Luke said as he looked at his phone to see it was nearly half past 4 and it was already pretty dark, "Did you not enjoy looking through all of the stores?" Michael asked, "Um…, it was ok" Luke replied, "If you didn't like it why didn't you just say?" Michael asked, "I was trying to be a good friend and you wanted someone to come with you, it wouldn't have been very good if I'd said I was bored after the second store would it" Luke replied, Michael couldn't help but smile at Luke effort, "Sorry, but I really like my comics" Michael replied, Luke was just about to say that he needed to head home when Michael made a suggestion, "I know a really nice coffee shop around here, do you want to grab one?" he suggested, Luke felt like he couldn't say no because it was Michael's way of saying thank you for sticking around, "Yeah sure" Luke replied and followed Michael towards the coffee shop. 

Soon enough they were out of the cold and sat at a table in a small coffee shop which overlooked the factories down by the river next to where the ships used to be built, "Here you go" Michael said as he placed Luke's cup down on the table and sat down opposite him, "Thanks" Luke replied as he picked it up and took a sip, "So anything happen to you this morning?" Michael asked, "Um…., kind of yeah" Luke replied, "Shit.., the dog, you had those guys coming around" Michael mumbled as he remembered, memory never was his best thing, "How did it go?" he then asked, "It went really well, they said I should be able to have him maybe within a week once they transfer everything over" Luke explained, "Wow, so you'd have been really excited until I dragged you out here" Michael replied, "Well, I've seen enough of The Walking Dead comics to feel like I've been in them" Luke replied holding his cup in his hand to keep warm, "Sorry, but you hid it well" Michael said with a laugh, "My morning was a bit more stressful then it should have been though" Luke said, Michael twisted his head signaling for Luke to continue, "Well, I've kind of ended up with Calum at my Flat again" Luke explained, the shock and confusion on Michael face was obvious, "Wh…., Wh…., Wait…, What?" Michael asked like Luke had just started suddenly speaking a different language, "I Said" Luke started but he was interrupted by Michael, "I know what you said…, I mean how did that happen and why?" Michael interrupted to ask, "I was on my way home from your birthday thing last night…." Luke began and then told Michael the whole story about how he ended up finding Calum and taking him back to his flat, when he was finished Michael sat and took it all in for a minute before saying anything, "I knew I should have asked about that lip, but it thought you must have bit it in your sleep or something, if I'd known Calum was back I could have guessed it was him" Michael said breaking the silence, "It's not like he beats me up all the time he's around, he pushed me off a curb once and punched me in the face a few months later" Luke replied, "I don't know him well enough to judge him, I'm just saying you should be careful around him, because you don't really know what he's like" Michael said, "Well from the way he describes himself he's not a nice person and he gets pretty violent, but I think that's just down to circumstances" Luke replied, "Just be careful Luke, I'm doing the whole friend thing now, I trust you on everything because your pretty smart, but just be careful" Michael said, "I will, if I didn't trust him I wouldn't have let him in my flat" Luke replied, repeating what he had early said to Calum, "Thanks for being a friend as well" he added and Michael smiled back at him, "I'm not gonna keep you out any longer now that I know about Calum, you probably just want to get back and check up on him" Michael said, "I'm kind of curious as to how he will be, having somewhere to live, it's the first proper home he's had for years" Luke replied, "Go on then, I'll pay the bill" Michael said, he smiled at Michael and nodded as he grabbed his jacket off the back of the chair, "I'll catch you on Monday" Luke said as he headed for the door, "See ya then" Michael said as Luke made his way out. 

Luke decided to walk back as the rain had almost stopped and taxi's on a Saturday night were stupidly expensive, this added 15 minutes to his journey but he didn't mind, he'd left Calum for best part of 6 hours he was sure 15 minutes wasn't going to make much of a difference. When he arrived back at the flat he found the front door was still unlocked, he had explained to Calum that he had left a key next to the door but he must have decided not to use it, when he pushed the door open all of the lights were off and he couldn't hear any noise, "Calum" he called out expecting a reply but he didn't get one, "Calum" he said again as he put his jacket on the hook by the door, it ran through his mind that Calum had left while he was gone but he would have found it strange seeing as he'd just this morning said he'd like to stay, "Calum" he called out for a third time but still there was no reply, by this point he had made his way down to the living room door, so when he walked in he got a shock to find Calum laying asleep on the sofa with a pair of headphones in his ears with Luke's IPod connected and laying on the table, Luke could only feel happy that he was still here, even more so that Calum had felt at home enough to take his IPod to listen to. Luke contemplated leaving Calum where he was and going to his room but he needed something to eat, he hadn't eaten since breakfast and he'd been doing a lot of walking, so he switched the light on and Calum quickly jumped out of his slumber and was soon sitting up and pulling the headphones out of his ears, "Oh…, Hey" he quickly said, "Hey" Luke replied, "Sorry to wake you, you can stay there if you want, I'm just gonna get something to eat" Luke said, "I should have been more awake since I left the door unlocked" Calum replied, Luke was impressed that Calum was thinking of keeping the Flat safe even though he'd only been living in it for less than a day, "I've never seen you relaxed like that before" Luke said as he turned the oven on, "I can't remember the last time I relaxed, you have to be pretty switched on when you don't know what's around you" Calum replied, "Well I'm glad you feel you can relax" Luke said as he looked in the freezer for something to eat, "Have you eaten?" Luke asked, "I had some crisps before, but that was a few hours ago" Calum replied, "How about Pasta something?" Luke asked, "Um…, yeah, I guess so" Calum replied, slightly hesitant as 'Something' could have been anything, "Right, I'll get that started Luke said as he began to boil some water in a pan before grabbing a glass of water and sitting down on the sofa opposite Calum, "Here" Calum said as he handed Luke his IPod back, "No, you can keep it, I'd forgotten I had it, I just listen to it all on my phone now" Luke replied as Calum pulled his arm back, "Where was it?" Luke asked, "In the room I slept in last night, they were both in the bedside table draw" Calum explained, "I'm sorry for going through your stuff" he quickly added, "Don't apologize, if I didn't want you to find something I'd hide it better than that" Luke said as he chuckled a little, "Why the IPod anyway, why not the TV?" he then asked, "You can learn a lot from someone's music taste, or so I was led to believe" Calum replied, "So what did you learn?" Luke asked, "You have a very good taste in Music" Calum replied, cracking a smile at the simplicity of his answer, Luke couldn't help but laugh at the answer, "I can't even remember what's on there, It must be 2 years since I last listened to it, it'll be missing all the new stuff" Luke said, "Lots of its new to me, I remember some of the older songs, lots of memories came back when I listened to them as I remember listening when I was still living at home" Calum replied, going back to looking sad, something he'd perfected over the past few years, "Yeah, but now it's time to make new memories to go with the old ones" Luke said raising the tone back up, he didn't get much of a reply from Calum but he knew he'd taken it in, "Anyway I'm gonna get changed, I don't want to feel like a wet towel all night" Luke said as he made his way out and into his room to get changed.

Luke and Calum managed to get through there meal without really speaking and then Calum Decided that he was going to bed, "I'll see you in the morning" Luke said as Calum left the room, "Yeah, I guess you will" Calum replied as he left the room and Luke listened to the door to the spare room close, leaving him by himself with the dirty dishes that were on the table. Luke sat around and watched the TV for the rest of the night, kind of liked the few hours he got to himself as the day had been pretty busy as he didn't really have time to stop and think, but eventually he became bored and his eyes became heavy so he knew it was time to go to bed. Luke cleared up and made his way into his room after making sure that the front door was locked and all of the lights were off, noticing then that the light in Calum's room was still on, he thought about seeing if he was ok but decided not to as it would have just been awkward. Soon enough Luke was laying on his bed trying to get to sleep which was proving harder than he expected after the day he'd had, then his room lit up meaning that he had a message on his phone, when he turned over and picked it up he could see it was from Michael, only just though as the bright light was dazzling to his sleepy eyes, "Are things still ok?" Michael's message read, "Yeah, everything's ok" Luke replied then he turned his phone off as didn't want to be interrupted while trying to get to sleep anymore.


	14. Together

Another Saturday evening and Luke found himself walking back to his flat just like he did every weekend, but this weekend evening was different as it was the last time this year he would be making the walk, with the company closing for Christmas on Thursday there were no more weekends left in the year to work. Luke found himself with an Umbrella in one hand and a Christmas tree box in the other, it contained the 6 foot tree he had just bought from the pop up Christmas market which was 5 minutes from the offices he worked in, he felt like it was time to make the flat look slightly more festive as he hadn't really had time to decorate it so far.

While he was on his way home Luke could feel his phone vibrating in his pocket so at the next chance he got he stopped, choosing somewhere dry to do it, and looked at his phone, 'Missed Call: Mam' was what the screen showed, "What time is it over there?" Luke muttered as he called straight back thinking it could be something important, "Hello" the voice on the other end said as the phone was answered, "Hi Mam, did you just call?" Luke asked, "I did, it's nothing important so if you're busy" She replied, "I've always got time for you, I'm not busy at all, in fact I just finished work until next year" Luke explained, "Awww, so sweet" She muttered, "Anyways, I just wanted to check that everything was ok with you?" She asked, "It's all ok, I got my assignment finished with a couple of days to spare so I've been stress free for a little while" Luke replied, "I'm glad to hear it, I don't want anything getting in the way f your studies" She explained, "I know, but I'm not back at Uni until the start of February since I don't have any exams" Luke replied, "Well, use your time off wisely" She said, "I know, I will and just for you, I've bought a tree for the flat" Luke explained, he could he the excitement in Mams voice as she'd been bothering him for weeks to get one, "Does it look beautiful?" She asked, "Um…, I'm not sure, it's still in the box, which is in my hand" Luke replied, "Have you just bought it?" She asked, "Yeah, like 10 minutes ago" Luke replied, "Well make sure it looks nice, I want pictures…. and don't put it up by yourself, get someone to help you" She suggested, "I'll be fine, if I'm struggling I'll ask someone, but it's Saturday night, they'll probably be out" Luke replied, "Just be careful" She said, "Mam…., what time is it over there?" Luke asked, "It's just gone 6" She replied, "Why are you calling me so early?" Luke asked, "Well…, since your Dad broke his leg and is stuck in the house he keeps telling me off for calling and messaging you, so I'm doing it before he gets up" She explained, "Oh…, right. It's a shame you can't come over for Christmas, but I just hope Dad gets better" Luke replied, "We'll be over in the summer, it'll be here before you know it" She said, "I'm sure" Luke replied, "Anyways, I'm gonna have to go, I can hear your Dad getting up" She said as Luke could hear his Mam moving around, "Ok, well, I'll let you know how the tree goes" Luke said, "Please, I want pictures to go with it" Luke's Mam replied, "Ok, when I'm done" Luke said, "Right, I'll speak to you later in the week. Love you and take care" She said, "Ok, love you to" Luke replied as the call ended and Luke slid his phone back into his pocket and looked back up at the rain which was still pouring down, so he flicked his umbrella back up and set off again for his flat trying to keep the Christmas tree as dry as possible.

At the third attempt Luke managed to get his key into the lock on the front door and twist it so he could get in, he tried his best to be quiet but it didn't work and before he could get the door closed or the box in his hand down on the ground he had RJ jumping up at him, "Hey little man, how are you?" he muttered as he threw his umbrella down on the ground and stood the box up by the door, "Have you been good today?" Luke asked as he crouched down so he was a RJ's level, "Come on, let's go, that way" Luke said as he pointed RJ back to the living room while he quickly hung his Jacket up and followed him down, "Hey Cal" Luke said as he found Calum sitting on the sofa watching some football on the TV, "Hey Luke, good day?" Calum asked, "Yeah, pretty good actually" Luke replied as he examined the TV closer, "Why are you even watching this?" Luke asked seeing that Calum had no interest in either of the teams, "I just like watching football" Calum replied, "Fair enough, have you eaten?" Luke asked as RJ jumped up on the sofa and curled up next to Calum, "No…., I thought we were getting something in tonight?" Calum replied, "Are we?" Luke asked as he didn't remember saying anything last night before he went to bed, "Yeah, you said on Monday that Ashton and Michael were coming over, so we'd just order in, is that still what's happening?" Calum asked, "Fuck" Luke muttered as he looked at the time, "I completely forgot they were coming" he added, "Um…, yeah, we'll just order in" Luke muttered as he rushed out of the room and back down the hallway, "Are you ok?" Calum asked, "Yes, I just forgot and I've bought a Christmas Tree that I was going to put up" Luke replied as he walked back into the room with the box he'd carried all the way home in his hand, "Well, we could do it tomorrow" Calum suggested, "Um…, ok, sure, I'll just put this in my room so it's out of the way" Luke replied as he carried the box back out and dropped it on the floor in his room, "I'm just getting changed, do you want to make a coffee?" Luke asked, "Sure" Calum replied as Luke shut his bedroom door.

Luke took the few minutes he had before Michael and Ashton arrived to relax on the sofa with his Coffee, "Where did the tree come from?" Calum asked, "Christmas Market" Luke replied as he sipped on his coffee, "Where is that?" Calum asked, "Just 5 minutes from the office" Luke replied, "Was it busy?" Calum asked, "A little, but what else can you expect when there is less than a week until the big day" Luke replied, "Yeah I guess" Calum said, "Are you ok?" Luke asked, "I guess so" Calum replied, "Nervous?" Luke asked, "Can you tell?" Calum asked back, "Yeah, it's pretty obvious" Luke said, "I just…., well…., like…., I'm not…., not to good around people" Calum replied in reference to Ashton and Michael's impending arrival, "There really nice though, so you don't need to worry" Luke said, "I know, you said already but…., I don't not want to get along with them, because…., well if I'm gonna be here for a little while and there your best friends, it would just be awkward" Calum replied, "Ok, but I'm sure you'll get along with them just fine…. and if not, we'll just get on with it, it won't be the end of the world" Luke explained as Calum looked a little less nervous, especially as RJ curled into his side as there was a knock on the door, "I guess I'll go" Luke said as he smiled at Calum and left the room.

Luke returned less than a minute later but now he was in conversation with Michael about UFO, "No, I'm telling you Luke, that's what it was" Michael said as they entered the room, "I'm not saying it wasn't, I just think it's unlikely" Luke said as the conversation quickly died as Michael looked over at Calum, "Hi" Michael said, sounding almost as nervous as Calum looked, "Hi" Calum replied as Ashton entered the room, "Hey, you must be Calum" he said as he nudged past Michael and reached out to shake Calum's hand, "Hi, you must be Ashton" Calum replied as he shuck Ashton's hand, "Sure am" Ashton said as he broke off the handshake and sat down where Luke had been sat, he was quickly joined by Michael, "Beer?" Luke asked, "Yeah" Michael replied trying not to stare at Calum, but he couldn't help it, so he got a nudge in the side from Ashton, "Here we go" Luke said as he placed 4 beers down on the table, "Thanks" all 3 said in unison as they picked there drink up.

The conversation certainly didn't flow, no one really spoke unless they were spoken to by Luke, who could tell everyone was hesitant, even Ashton who had seemed so confident when he had first come in was acting reserved for the first time Luke could remember. Eventually Luke got tired of having to be the centre of every topic of conversation, "I think we should order some food" he said as he grabbed the menu off the table, "Yeah, sounds like a plan" Michael replied as he grabbed for the second menu and began to examine what he wanted, "Are we all ok with Chinese?" Luke asked as he'd forgotten to check that everyone was ok with it, Ashton and Calum both nodded and the way Michael was looking at the Menu Luke assumed that he must be ok with it. After a few minutes where everyone picked something off the menu, Calum needed a little help from Luke as he was unsure what most of it was, Luke grabbed the phone and called to place the order. A problem that no one had imagined then arose, "They don't deliver" Luke said as he put the phone down, "What?" Michael questioned, "No delivery" Luke replied, "So….?" Michael asked, "We have to pick it up" Luke explained, "Who's going?" Ashton asked, "I thought we should just all go" Luke replied, "Should someone not stay and look after RJ?" Michael asked, "Um…, maybe" Luke replied, "I'll stay" Calum quickly suggested, this was what Luke was trying to avoid, he wanted Calum to leave as he hadn't been outside since he'd first moved in, "Are you sure you don't want to come, I mean, I can stay?" Luke asked, trying to change Calum's mind, "No, I'll just stay, I'm not dressed for going out, you are" Calum replied, he did have a point, everyone was dressed appropriately apart from himself, "Ok" Luke reluctantly said as he accepted that Calum wasn't going to change his mind, "Come on then Luke, I'm getting hungry" Michael said as he threw Luke his jacket which was hanging on the back of the sofa, "No change there then" Ashton muttered referencing Michael almost constant state of hunger, "Ok, we'll see you when we get back, hopefully with some food" Luke said to Calum as he exited the room with Ashton and Michael and headed out.

The weather outside was relatively calm for mid December, but that didn't mean it wasn't still freezing cold, "How are things with you and Calum?" Ashton asked as soon as they reached the bottom of the stairs outside of Luke's flat, "They're ok" Luke replied, "I just wish he'd come out of the flat more often…., well, just come out of the flat" he added, "Has he not been out since he moved in?" Michael asked, "No, he won't even walk RJ, I have to do it after I come in, which is pretty stressful after a day at work or sitting in the library writing an assignment to a deadline" Luke replied as they began to walk towards the Chinese takeaway they had placed there order at, Michael nodded in agreement as he had spent the last couple of weeks with Luke in the library working on their assignment, "Have you told him?" Ashton asked, "No" Luke replied quickly, "I don't want him to feel like there is a problem" Luke added, "But there is" Ashton said, "You should tell him Luke, he can't just live in your Flat and never come out for the rest of his life" Michael said, "And if he's gonna live with you there needs to be some kind of effort on his part" Ashton added, Luke was surprised with Michael and Ashton's stance on the subject, but he also knew they were right, "It's just…., I don't want him to leave because I say the wrong thing, it took so long to get this far" Luke replied, "We know that, we know how you feel, but, he can't have expected to have moved in and just do nothing" Ashton said, "He does things around the flat, he keeps it tidy, he does look after RJ through the day and if he can he'll help with the cooking, but that's mainly me" Luke explained, "See, he wants to do things, you just have to say he needs to do a few more because you can't do 99% and him 1%" Michael stated, Luke nodded, he knew he couldn't really argue, "But…, do you 2 get along ok?" Michael then asked, "Yeah" Luke replied, "So, there isn't like a clash of personalities?" Michael asked, "No, it's ok, we both like the same Music, Sports and TV so there is plenty for us to watch and listen to, sometimes we just sit and listen to a album or watch some TV, we don't speak but we are happy in each other's company…., and now we have RJ" Luke explained, "How's that been?" Ashton asked, "Pretty good, Calum loves having him around, he hates being alone so having RJ means he never feels like he is, even when I'm not there, which has been most of the time lately" Luke explained, "Lots of late nights last week wasn't there" Michael said, "Yeah, I pretty much didn't see Calum on some days, but I think he understands, I've got other commitments I can't just stay in the flat with him" Luke said, "But he does like to be around when I come in" he added, "He's been alone for so long, just having you around probably makes him feel so much safer" Ashton said, Luke nodded, he knew it was the truth, whenever he came in from Work or Uni Calum would come out of his room and just sit in the living room or stand in the kitchen, not always talking just content that he had someone there for him, "If he feels safe with you then he's not likely to leave when you ask him to go outside for a little time a day" Michael said, "I know, I just don't want him to feel pressured into doing anything" Luke replied, "I'm sure he'll be fine with it" Ashton said as they approached the takeaway, much to Michael's relief, "Thank god, I've almost dying or hunger" Michael muttered as they approached, Luke looked across at Ashton who rolled his eyes at the comment as they crossed the road and entered.

The walk back was uneventful and soon they were back at the flat, "I know, but what am I supposed to do?" Michael asked, "Why can't you just ask her out like a normal person does?" Ashton asked back, "That would be sensible" Luke added, "Yeah, but you haven't met her, she probably wouldn't like that, I mean, well, maybe, but…., I don't know" Michael said, "Just next time you see her ask her if she'd like to go out for a meal or to see a film, something like that" Luke suggested, "Ok, I'll try" Michael replied as they all hung up their jackets and made their way into the living room to find Calum sitting on the sofa with RJ, "Are you ok?" Luke asked as he was first into the room, "Yeah" Calum replied as RJ jumped down and ran over towards Luke, "Hey, little guy, are you hungry" Luke replied, "I didn't feed him as I wasn't sure if he needed a walk or anything" Calum explained, "I think tonight he'll be ok without a walk" Luke replied as he opened the cupboard and grabbed the bag of dog food, "I'll sort the food out" Michael said as he placed the bags they carried back on the table.

The conversation over the meal was slow, again it seemed to be Luke that was having to lead although as the evening went on Ashton began to add more, especially when he revealed that he was going to Scotland for Christmas and New Year, "Where abouts are you going?" Luke asked, "Glasgow for Christmas and then Edinburgh for New Year" Ashton replied, "Calum, you lived in Glasgow didn't you?" Luke asked, Calum nodded, "Yeah, for a few years" he added, "Is it nice?" Ashton asked, "Some of it, but, like everywhere it's got it's less nice places" Calum replied, "I can't wait, I've saved my holidays up all year for this" Ashton said, "How long are you away for?" Luke asked, "3 Weeks, I'm not back until the 9th of January" Ashton replied, "Nice. Is it a family thing?" Luke asked, "Yeah, some of my Mams cousins live up there so we are all going up for Christmas, then for New Year I'm going across the Edinburgh, just to drink basically" Ashton explained, Luke and Calum laughed, Michael wasn't paying attention as he was staring at his phone, "Sorry we're so boring" Ashton said towards Michael, "Oh…., what" He replied as he dragged his eyes off his screen, "I said…" Ashton tried to say as Michael interrupted, "Sorry, I heard, I'm just…., well, sorry but is it ok if I head off, I've got to meet up with someone" Michael explained, Luke laughed, "Yeah, sure, no problem" Luke replied, Michael was quickly up and out of his seat, "Sorry, but there is a film screening on I need to go and see" Michael explained, causing Ashton and Luke to laugh, "Ok, we'll not keep you then" Ashton said, "It was nice to meet you Calum, I'm sure I'll see you again and then I'll not act like such a dick and leave suddenly" Michael said as he headed for the door, Calum smiled, "Ok" he said as Michael disappeared and soon enough they heard the front door open and then close again, "Well, I didn't think things would move that quickly" Luke commented, "You know what he's like, spur of the moment all of the time" Ashton replied.

Ashton hung around for an hour or so after Michael had left, with every moment that passed he became more comfortable around Calum and vice versa, "I think I should probably set off, I need to be up early to catch the train" Ashton said as he looked at the clock which showed the time to be half past 10, "Yeah, you don't want to be late for that" Luke replied as they both stood up, "Guess I'll see you around Calum" Ashton said as he grabbed his phone off the table, "Yeah…., enjoy Glasgow" Calum replied, "Thanks, I'm sure I will" Ashton replied as he made his way out of the door and down the hallway followed by Luke, "Guess I'll catch you after Christmas then" Luke said as Ashton stopped to grab his jacket off the hook, "Yeah" Ashton replied as he leaned in close to Luke, "You two are good together, don't think otherwise" Ashton whispered into Luke's ear, "Do you think he thinks that?" Luke asked back trying to keep his voice down, Ashton smiled and nodded, "He won't leave so don't worry about that, he likes it here too much, he looks so at home" Ashton explained, Luke could hardly hold his smile back, "Catch you in the new year Luke" Ashton said returning his voice back to normal, "Yeah, see you then" Luke replied as Ashton opened the door and made his way out, Luke closed the door once Ashton had disappeared from view and made his way back into the living room, "What were you 2 talking about?" Calum asked as Luke sat down next to him and RJ, "Just stuff" Luke replied as he tried to keep the smile on his face under control.


	15. Wasn't Expecting That

Luke wasn't use to having quiet afternoons, ever since he'd started his job he never seemed to have anytime to himself and when Calum moved in his free time became limited even more, but this afternoon he found himself laying on the sofa with nothing to do, "So does it look good?" Calum asked in reference to the Christmas tree that was stood in the corner, "I think so, but I'm not an expert" Luke replied as he tilted his head up and looked over at the tree he and Calum had spent all morning putting up, "What do you think?" Luke asked, "I like it, but even less of an expert than you" Calum replied as he sat down on the sofa opposite Luke, "My Mam is a Christmas tree expert, she'll tell me what it looks like" Luke said as he pushed himself up off the sofa, "Would you take a picture of me with it?" Luke asked as he passed Calum his phone, "Um…." he muttered as he wasn't sure what to do, "Click the button then slide it up and it'll bring the camera up, then just use the centre button" Luke explained, Calum followed his instructions and quickly found the camera on the screen, "Ok" Calum said as he pointed the camera towards the tree, "Ok, just when you're ready" Luke said as he raised his hands and gave a double thumbs up and Calum took the picture, "What does it look like?" Luke asked, "It was ok, I think" Calum muttered, "Here" Luke said as he took the phone and showed Calum how to get the picture he had just taken back on the screen, "Have you really never used one of these?" Luke asked as Calum shook his head, "When would I have, I mean, I never had a phone and then never needed one" Calum replied, "I guess" Luke mumbled, "It's a good picture, do you want to stand over there and I'll get one of you?" Luke asked, "Why?" Calum asked, surprised at Luke's suggestion, "Christmas Memories" Luke replied so Calum stood next to the tree while Luke took a picture, "Ok, that's done" Luke said as he showed Calum the picture, "It's ok" Calum said as he looked at the picture, then Luke knocked the image off and scrolled onto the next one by accident, "Oh…, that's just me with my Mam and Dad last year" Luke said as an image of last Christmas came onto the screen, "You went home?" Calum asked, "Yeah, I was away for a few weeks, back to the sunshine and beaches" Luke said, "Why aren't you going back this year?" Calum asked as they both sat down where they had been before the pictures, "They were going to come over here but my Dad broke his leg and now they can't" Luke explained, "So you were going to have Christmas by yourself?" Calum asked, "Yeah…, but now I've got you and RJ, so it's not so bad" Luke replied, "If they had been coming, I wouldn't have been in the way would I?" Calum asked, "No, My Mam has been trying to get me to have a flat mate since I moved in, she's still trying, she has this idea that I can't survive by myself" Luke explained, "Does she not know that I'm here?" Calum asked, "Well…., not yet" Luke replied, Calum looked disappointed that Luke hadn't told his Mam that he had a flat mate, he felt like he mustn't have been good enough for Luke to tell her about him, "It's nothing personal Calum, please don't look sad, I just haven't found a way to say…., she doesn't know I have a dog yet either" Luke explained, "Are you comparing me to RJ?" Calum asked, a smile replaced the sad look on his face, "No…, well, maybe" Luke replied as he chuckled, "There are similarities" he added, the smile on Calum's face remained, "Thanks" he muttered as he stood up and walked into the kitchen, "Coffee?" he asked, "Sure" Luke replied as he twisted so he could lay back down on the sofa.

Luke spent most of the day asleep on the sofa, he was so tired from the past few weeks that all he wanted to do was sleep. Eventually he woke up and found it was dark outside, "How long have I been asleep?" he asked as his eyes adjusted to the light in the room, "3 or 4 hours, I'm not sure" Calum replied from the other sofa where he was sat watching some Spanish football on the TV, "Did I miss anything?" Luke asked, Calum shook his head as Luke turned to look at the tree, "I still think it looks good" he said, Calum smiled and nodded, "It's your tree, if you think it looks good then it looks good" he commented, "It's our tree, you live here, you helped put it up" Luke replied, "Just for now, but ok, it's ours" Calum said as Luke pushed himself up off the sofa, "I need to eat" he said, "Have you already eaten?" he then asked, "No, I was waiting for you, I didn't know if you'd planned something or not" Calum replied, "No, but I'll find something" Luke said as he began to search through the cupboards.

It took a while but Luke was soon back on the sofa after finishing off half a Pizza from the takeaway around the corner, "Is it really bad that I could go back to sleep?" Luke asked trying to keep his eyes open, he didn't get an answer from Calum so he looked over and saw that Calum was asleep as well, he smiled to himself as the football on the TV was playing out to itself, but just as he was about to turn back his phone began to buzz on the table clearly waking Calum as he turned over to see what the noise was, Luke quickly grabbed his phone and answered the call which was from his Mam, "Hello" he said as he left the room. Luke was away for a while, Calum could hear him talking in his room but couldn't make out many words as he'd closed the door behind himself, so he grabbed the plates off the table and tidied up from there earlier meal, by the time he was done Luke had reappeared, "The Tree got a thumbs up" Luke said with a smile and Calum worked out that the call must have been from Luke's Mam, "So you sent her the picture then?" Calum asked, "Kinda" Luke replied as Calum sat down on the sofa across from Luke, "Kinda?" Calum questioned, "I sent her the wrong one so she called to ask who it was in the picture" Luke explained, "How did you do that?" Calum asked, "I guess I just saw the tree and picked that picture, I didn't think, so I was just explaining a few things to her" Luke replied, "Like what?" Calum asked, "Well, obviously I had to tell her who you were, which I should have done before now because she got all excited that I wasn't living by myself, I explained that you were looking for somewhere to live and moved in here for a while, or as long as necessary" Luke explained, "I also said that we'd got ourselves a Dog" Luke added, "How did she feel about that?" Calum asked, "She was stupidly happy, she loves that I've actually settled down over here now and can't wait to visit, she also said that I should have told her sooner that you'd moved in and she'd have sent you a welcome gift for Christmas" Luke replied, Calum smiled, he already knew Luke's Mam was cool just for how he described her, "Don't look to happy, it would just have been a Christmas jumper" Luke said with a laugh as he could see Calum was clearly happy from what she'd said, "It's just the thought" Calum replied with a smile still across his face, "If it means that much you can have mine, I'm sure it's in one of those boxes under the tree" Luke said referring to the gifts he'd been receiving from Australia for the past few weeks that he'd put under the tree once it was put up, "I'll let you keep it, it's your gift" Calum said as his attention was drawn back to the TV briefly before he turned back to look at Luke, "Luke, I know you said it would be ok, but, well, if I stayed, like all the time…" Calum said but couldn't finish as Luke interrupted, "Yes, there is no problem with you staying" he said as he smiled, "I just didn't know, well, if it was ok because, I don't really do a lot, I just get in the way and use your stuff" Calum replied, "You don't get in the way and you do plenty of things, there is 1 thing though" Luke muttered, "What?" Calum asked, "You have to start going outside" Luke said, "Um…., ok" Calum said as he found the request strange, "It's just that you haven't been out since you moved in and I think it's important that you don't just stay in here…., even if it's just to walk RJ" Luke explained, "I just worried that something might go wrong if I went outside, like…., I don't know but, but I didn't want to fuck anything up" Calum replied, "So what if something does go wrong, I'm sure we can deal with it, you need to stop thinking that you're going to Fuck things up all the time, you doubt yourself to much" Luke said, "Ok, I'll take RJ for a walk tomorrow" Calum replied, "Ok, but I want to come with you, at least for a little while, because I need to go out and grab some things" Luke said, "Ok, but I get to hold the lead" Calum joked and Luke laughed, "Funny Calum, don't go getting any idea that your funnier than me" Luke said, "It's not hard" Calum joked again, "I'm going to get a shower" Luke said as he smiled and pushed himself up off the sofa and made his way to the bathroom. 

Luke was glad the next day when Calum didn't go back on his word and took RJ out for a walk, he was slightly nervous at first but he soon settled down when he realized that his worries were all in his head. Luke left them in the park for a little while as he dropped into some shops to grab some things he needed. Soon enough he was back in the park and meeting up with them again, Calum was sitting on the park bench with RJ underneath, "Hey" Luke said as he approached, "Hey, did you get what you wanted?" Calum asked, "Sure did" Luke replied as he reached into his pocket, "This is for you" he added as he pulled a key out, "What's it for?" Calum questioned as he took it from Luke, "The front door to the flat" Luke replied, Calum looked surprised at first but his surprised soon turned into happiness, "If you're going to start going out you'll need a key" Luke said as Calum stood up and gave him a hug, catching Luke off guard and nearly pushing him over as he struggled to keep his balance with the bags in his hand, "Thanks Luke, it means a lot, like I actually belong somewhere now" Calum said as he loosened his grip on, "It's ok, just something I think you'll need" Luke said, "Now, can we go home, it's pretty cold out here" he added, Calum nodded and grabbed RJ's lead and they set off home.

The next few days were pretty good, Calum really had settled in to living in the flat and now that Luke had made him start going out he was always taking RJ out for walks, Luke knew it was just the first step but he could see Calum's confidence building with ever trip out. In full holiday mode Luke was spending most of his days watching Netflix and playing FIFA, which was even better now that he had Calum to play against, even if he was picking it up to fast for Luke's liking, it only took a few games until he'd been beaten, but the time spent together was only building their friendship further and Luke was happy simply because Calum was.

Luke spent most of Christmas eve watching the TV with Calum, he'd introduced him to The Walking Dead and now he was hooked, so they'd started watching from the beginning and had made it through the first 2 seasons when Luke took a break and made his way into his room, he gave Calum a lame excuse for needing a break, something about his eyes getting tired but really he needed to wrap the gifts he'd bought for Calum when he'd left him in the park a few days ago. Luke put his Music on so Calum couldn't hear what was going on as the noise of the tape and the paper was quite loud, but soon he was interrupted by a call from Michael, "Hello" Luke said as he turned the music down, "Luke?" Michael asked sounding a little confused, "Yeah" Luke replied, "Are you at a party?" Michael asked, Luke realized he'd clearly heard the music when he'd answered the phone, "No, I'm in my room with my Music on" Luke explained, "Have you had a row?" Michael asked, "What makes you think that?" Luke asked back as he got up off the floor and sat down on the bed, "I'm just confused as to why you're in your room" Michael said, "I got Calum a few little gifts the other day, I'm trying to wrap them without him knowing" Luke whispered just loud enough for Michael to hear, hoping that the music would stop Calum from hearing, "Oh, I didn't think you were doing that because he'd be annoyed he couldn't buy you anything back" Michael said, "I wasn't but then the other day he asked if it was ok for him to stay all the time, like permanently and I thought I should, just so he feels at home" Luke explained, "That's great, because you've wanted that so much, I'm really pleased that he's gonna stay" Michael replied, "Anyway, enough about me, what did you call for?" Luke asked, "2 things" Michael said, "First, I'd like to apologize for my quick exit the other night, I felt bad because I don't want Calum to think it was him that made me leave, so I'm sorry for that" Michael said, "It's ok" Luke muttered as Michael quickly moved onto the next point, "Secondly, I'd like to invite you and Calum around tomorrow night for a few drinks and well, just some company" Michael explained, "Christmas Day?" Luke asked, surprised that anyone did anything on Christmas, "Yeah, we have family and friends around on Christmas evening, we have for years, I was going to ask last year but you were away, so this year I thought I would and it would be great if Calum could come to, it's normally older people and they get boring after a while" Michael explained, "I mean, I'll ask him" Luke said, "I'll be there, just send me directions because I've never been to your house before" Luke added, "Ok, great, I'll text you later" Michael said, the excitement in his voice was easy to hear once Luke said he'd be coming, "Ok, bye" Luke said the he ended the call, then slipped out of his room making sure the door was closed behind him and finding Calum watching the news on the TV in the living room, "I've just spoken to Michael, he's asked us over for a few drinks tomorrow night, I just wanted to see if you wanted to go?" Luke asked, Calum was hesitant, "I'm going so it's up to you, I'm ok whatever you decide" Luke added, "Do you think RJ will be ok by himself?" Calum asked, "Yeah, sure, it's only for a couple of hours" Luke replied, he was waiting for him to decline the invitation and come up with some half baked excuse, "Ok, why not" Calum replied, shocking Luke, "O….., Ok, I'll let him know" he muttered as he stepped out of the room before back stepping back in, "He also said it wasn't anything to do with you, you know, when he left the other night, he didn't want you to think it was, just if you did, but he didn't think you did, just in case you did though" Luke mumbled, he wasn't sure how to phrase it so it all just came out as a splutter of words, Calum chuckled, something that Luke always liked to hear, "I didn't, so tell him not to worry" Calum replied as his laugh died down, "Ok, I will. I'll just be a few minutes and then we can start watching The Walking Dead again" Luke said, "No rush" Calum replied, so casually, Luke loved how settled Calum had become around him and in the flat, it was just like he'd hoped things would be, as he stepped out to finish up wrapping Calum's gifts.

Luke had hardly started again when there was a knock on his bedroom door, "Um…, Just a minute" Luke mumbled as he quickly pushed everything he could see under the bed and out of sight, "Yeah" he said as he looked and couldn't see anything showing what he was doing, then the door slowly crept open, "Luke" Calum said, "I was thinking, if we have to meet people, do I not look, well, like a homeless guy?" Calum asked in reference to his longish rough cut hair and his messy half shaven beard, "Does it matter?" Luke asked, "I don't want to embarrass Michael in front of people tomorrow" Calum replied, "I don't think you will, I doubt he'd be bothered anyway" Luke replied but he could see that this was something that Calum had really thought about and was something that was bothering him, "Is this important to you?" Luke asked, "I just don't want to look a mess in front of people, especially if it's Michael's family and friends" Calum replied, Luke looked at the clock in his room which showed 17:24, "Look, do you know the barbers at the end of this street?" Luke asked as he pointed to the back street beside his flat, Calum nodded, "Here" Luke said as he picked up a £20 note and handed it to Calum, "I wasn't asking for money, I'd rather just not go" Calum replied as he tried to pass the money back, "No" Luke said firmly pushing Calum's hand away, "If it matters enough to stop you going out then you should go and get it sorted" Luke firmly said, Calum listened and stopped trying to hand the money back, "Now, he's open late tonight so go along and he'll sort you out, he's pretty good" Luke explained, Calum looked at the money and looked back up at Luke, "Thanks" he muttered as he turned and walked out of Luke's room, grabbed his shoe's and headed out of the front door, leaving Luke with plenty of time to wrap his gifts up. 

Luke sat in the living room, with RJ curled up next to him waiting for Calum to return, which he did just after 7, he walked into the room and Luke almost didn't recognize him, "Hey, looks much better" Luke said observing that not only had Calum's hair been cut but his facial hair was also cleaned up, "I feel better for having it done, I at least don't look like I just wandered in off the street" Calum replied as he sat down, "Just copying my style anyway" Luke joked, "I just said I wanted it something like yours and this is what I got, I'm not gonna complain it so much better" Calum replied, Luke could tell that his mood had lifted just from that, it clearly made him feel better about himself and that was what Luke had hoped to achieve by insisting he went and got it sorted when he mentioned it, "Should we get back to The Walking Dead?" Luke asked and Calum nodded, so Luke grabbed the remote and pressed play.

The following morning Luke was awake early so he was surprised to find Calum already sitting in the living room when he made his way in, "Oh…, hey, you're up early" Luke muttered surprised, "I just couldn't sleep" Calum replied, "It's all the excitement about it being Christmas" Luke laughed, "Coffee?" he asked, "Yeah" Calum replied as Luke made his way into the kitchen. Once the coffees where made he handed Calum his and sat down opposite him in what was now known as his seat, just like the one Calum was in was now known as his, "Are you not going to open your gifts?" Calum asked as Luke rested back in his seat, "In front of you?" Luke asked back, he was hoping to open his when Calum wasn't there as he didn't have any to open, or that he knew of, "I don't mind, it's your flat, do what you like" Calum replied, "Are you sure?" Luke asked, Calum nodded as he sipped his coffee, so Luke knelt down and picked up the front present from under the tree. After a few gifts were opened Luke picked one up that he had bought for Calum, "Here" Luke said passing it to Calum who looked surprised at the parcel being passed his way, "For me?" Calum questioned, "Yep" Luke said as Calum took the parcel out of his hand and read the label, "Thanks" he said as he opened it knowing it was from Luke, inside were a couple of T-shirts, "Is this so I stop borrowing yours" Calum joked, Luke nodded as he opened another gift and handed another one to Calum, "Another one?" Calum questioned, "Yeah" Luke said as they both opened they gifts, "Bathroom stuff" Calum said as he opened his next present and a third one Luke presented him with contained a pair of black jeans, "You never have the ones off that I gave you so I thought I'd just buy you some" Luke said, Calum was looking pretty happy with his surprise gifts. As Luke got to the bottom of the pile he passed Calum another gift and found one he didn't recognize on the floor, "What's this" Luke said as he reached down and picked the parcel up, 'To Luke From Calum' it read, "Um…, ok" Luke mumbled as he looked over at Calum who was looking back at him, he unwrapped it slightly confused and found a copy of Good Charlotte & Blink 182's greatest hits, "How did you get these?" Luke asked, he was so confused, "When you gave me £20 yesterday I used what I had left to buy them, I was just going to get you one but I could afford them both" Calum replied, "But how did you know?" Luke asked, "I remember you saying to Ashton you didn't have them the other night, so I thought I'd try and get you one" Calum replied, Luke wasn't expecting to receive a present from Calum, it was possibly the best thing he had received as he knew Calum was interested in what he was talking about, "Thanks" Luke muttered still slightly shocked to have received them, "Don't, I mean, look at what you got me" Calum said pointing to the small pile of things he had next to him, "I just wanted you to feel like this was a home, so I thought if you had your own stuff you might feel more at home" Luke explained, "Well…….., I do" Calum replied with a huge smile on his face, "Best Christmas in years" he added, "Glad to hear it" Luke muttered, "Now I've got to start the lunch" Luke said, "What is the present by your foot?" Calum asked, "It's for RJ, but since he's not up yet" Luke said, "Ok, we'll do that later" Calum said as he looked at his gifts as Luke walked into the kitchen.

By 5 both Calum and Luke were ready to go to Michael's, "Now, behave while we're gone" Luke said to RJ who was still playing with his new chew toy, "Should we go?" Calum asked, "Yeah" Luke said as he closed the door leaving RJ sitting in his bed in the corner and heading to the front door. Luke and Calum got a taxi across to Michael's as neither of them had any idea of where he lived, luckily the driver knew how to get there. When they arrived they were greeted by the sight of a house covered in bright lights, "I guess it's this one" Luke said as they reached the door and Luke knocked, it soon opened and Michael's Mam invited them in, "It's so nice to see you Luke, it's been so long" She said, "Yeah, it's nice to see you Mrs. Clifford" Luke replied, "Please, just call me Karen" She said, "And you must be Calum" She then said as Calum stepped in, "I am, it's nice to meet you" Calum replied as he handed over a bottle bag, "We brought you this as a gift for inviting us over" Calum said, "You shouldn't have bothered, but I'm not going to say no as I'm sure it will be gone by the end of the night" She replied just as Michael appeared from the stairs, "Hey guys" he said as he almost ran over he was so excited that they had both come, "Please help yourselves to drinks" Michael's Mam said as she made her way to open the door for some more guests arriving, "Come on I'll show you where the drinks are" Michael said as he guided Luke and Calum further into the house.

Michael led Luke and Calum around the house until they eventually ended up in his room as it was the only place they could sit down as it was so crowded downstairs, "Please sit down" Michael said as he sat down on a chair he had in front of his computer leaving Calum and Luke to sit down on his bed, "So do you do this every year?" Luke asked, "Yeah, have done for as long as I can remember" Michael replied, "It was actually my Mam who suggested that I ask you, she was just so use to Ashton coming around that when I said he wasn't around she said I should ask someone else because we don't have many people coming around my age, so I asked you, which I was going to do anyway, but once she found out that you didn't have any plans for Christmas she practically forced me to call you then and there" he added, Luke laughed, "I can she her doing it, she's that type of woman" Luke muttered, "Practically forced the phone to my ear" Michael joked, Calum began to laugh and Michael felt like he'd finally bonded with Calum over something, "How are you finding living with Luke?" he asked Calum when the laughter began to die down, "It's nice just to have somewhere to live again" Calum replied, "Having someone as generous and kind as Luke there just makes it better" he added, Luke's face lit up and he couldn't help but smile and bite down on his lip a little, "Actually, now you mention being generous" Michael said as he left the room and soon returned, "Mam threw this together after you said you'd come, because you don't have your parents around over the holidays and stuff" he said as he passed Luke a basket filled with all sorts of food and drink, "You really shouldn't have" Luke replied as he struggled to hold the basket up, "No, she insisted you have it" Michael said, "Well, ok, I guess we'll keep it" Luke said as he placed it down on the floor, "Thank you" Calum added with a smile, "Don't mention it" Michael said as his Mam called up, "Michael, can you come down, people are wondering where you are" She shouted, "Ok" Michael shouted back, "I think we should go and mingle" Michael suggested, Calum and Luke nodded and followed him back downstairs.

For the next few hours Michael, Luke and Calum moved around speaking to many different people, so by 11 they had spoken to everyone and Luke ended up back next to Michael, sat by the front window "When did you last see Calum?" Luke asked, "He's speaking to one of our old neighbors, I have to warn you, I think he might have had a bit much to drink" Michael replied, "Who…, Calum?" Luke asked, "Yep" Michael replied, Luke was shocked as he didn't think Calum was the type to drink excessively, "Should we go and get him?" Michael asked, "Maybe, if I have to get him home" Luke replied as they made their way into the kitchen to find him sitting at the table with a bottle in his hand, "Hey Cal, I think we best get going" Luke said as he approached, "Um…., yeah…, sure" Calum replied, talking slowly and over thinking his words, "You sound like you've had a good time" Luke said as he helped Calum out of his seat as he was clearly struggling to get up, "I think…., I…., I…, think I…., I might have…., might be a bit drunk" Calum slowly replied, "Maybe" Luke replied as he help him towards the front door, "I'll call you a taxi" Michael said, luckily he'd stayed away from the drink for most of the night so he could at least be helpful.

When the Taxi arrived Luke and Michael helped Calum into the back, "I'll have to get the food basket hamper thing tomorrow, I don't think I can cope with that and Calum" Luke said as Calum immediately fell asleep across the back seat of the taxi, "Yeah, I'll bring it around tomorrow for you, my dad will give me a lift across" Michael replied, "Ok, thanks, we've had a great time, especially Calum" Luke joked, Michael laughed, "Been great having you around" Michael replied, "Ok, I'll see you tomorrow" Luke said, "Yeah, I'll text you and let you know when I'm coming" Michael replied, "Ok" Luke said, "Catch you tomorrow" Michael said as Luke jumped into the taxi and shut the door behind himself. Calum was no trouble for the journey home as he slept the whole way, although Luke had to struggle when they got there as he wanted to stay, "Come on Cal, just 2 minutes and you can be in your bed" Luke said as he tried to pull Calum out of the back, "But it' comfy" Calum replied, "So is your bed" Luke said as he dragged Calum to the edge of the door, "It's cold here, can't I just stay" Calum muttered, "I'm not paying for you to stay here all night" Luke replied as he pulled Calum's legs out and got him stood up, "Come on, let's get you inside" Luke said as he used his free arm to pay the driver and slowly began to ascend the stairs.

Luke struggled to open the front door as he had to keep Calum from falling over, "I don't think the fresh air has done you any good" He muttered towards Calum as he fumbled around with the keys trying to get it into the lock, "Luke" Calum said, "Yes Cal" Luke replied, "Thank you" Calum mumbled, "What for?" Luke asked as the key went into the lock and the door opened, "Come on" Luke said as he helped Calum through and into his room before he returned to shut the door, "Looking after me" Calum muttered, "What?" Luke asked, then he realized Calum was referencing the conversation they were having while he was trying to open the door, "Oh…, of course, I wouldn't just leave you by yourself" Luke said, "I can't go to sleep wearing these" Calum muttered, "Well you can't change yourself and I'm not changing you, we aren't good enough friends for that yet" Luke joked, but Calum was to sleepy to laugh at it, "Thank you" Calum mumbled again, Luke loved Calum's sleepy drunk voice, he sounded so helpless, "Let's get those shoe's off before you get them all over the bed" Luke said as he pulled Calum's shoes off pushed his legs up onto the bed, grabbing the sheet from the bottom of the bed and pulling it up over Calum's body which was at the angle he'd fallen over at, "We don't want you getting Cold now do we" Luke said as he lay it down up to his shoulders, "Lucas" Calum mumbled again, Luke found it strange as he'd never been called that since he was very young by one of his grandparents, "Yes Calum" Luke replied, "Love You" Calum muttered, Luke stepped back in shock at what he'd just said, "What?" he instinctively replied, "Love You Luke" Calum repeated with a smile across his face, Luke didn't know what to think, he probably didn't know what he was saying but he'd said it now, twice, and Luke was stunned as he didn't expect, "Um…, love you to Cal" Luke hesitantly replied, Calum chuckled, "I know" he mumbled, Luke smiled, all sorts of thoughts running through his head, he knew he probably wouldn't remember what he'd said in the morning, so he just rubbed Calum on the shoulder, "Night Cal" he said as he made his way out and slowly pulled the door shut behind him.


	16. Carry On

Over the next few weeks Luke managed to avoid mentioning anything about Christmas night, all Calum knows is that he got drunk and Luke got him home in a taxi, he doesn't remember anything after that which Luke was slightly disappointed about, but it was probably best and they had just slipped back into their usually day to day routine, Luke wasn't back at Uni until the start of February and was only at work on Fridays and Saturdays so he spent most of his time in the Flat with Calum and RJ. Luke hadn't seen Ashton since before he'd gone to Scotland and he hadn't seen Michael since he'd dropped off their gift from his Mum just after Christmas, so when Michael decided they all needed to catch up he was up for the idea and agreed before he found out where Michael had decided this meet up should be.

"Calum" Luke called from his bedroom and soon Calum was at the door, "Have you put RJ's food out?" he asked, "I've just done it" Calum replied, "Ok, just, I don't want to be late" Luke said, "It's a house party Luke, I don't think it matters what time we get there" Calum said, "I know, but the sooner we get there the sooner we can leave" Luke said and Calum chuckled, "You're such an old man" he said as he left and pulled Luke's door shut. As soon as he was ready Luke wanted to leave, "Calum, are you ready to go?" Luke called as he stood by the front door, "I'm just putting my shoe's on" Calum said back and Luke let out a heavy breath, "Right" Calum said as he came out of the living room and pulled the door shut behind himself, "We can go" He added, "Are you not going to put a jacket on?" Luke questioned, "Yes Mam" Calum said sarcastically as he grabbed his jacket off the hook by the door as Luke open the door and stepped out, followed by Calum.

Luke led Calum towards the house that Michael had told him to go to for the house party, it was the same house where Michael had broken the chandelier, so he sort of knew his way there, "Who has a house party on a Monday night?" Calum asked as they made their way through the very quiet streets, "No idea, Michael knows some strange people" Luke replied, "I know, he knows you" Calum joked, "Very funny" Luke replied as Luke spotted Ashton walking ahead, "I think that's Ash" Luke said, so he grabbed his phone and called him and just as he expected it was Ashton as the guy in front stopped and answered his phone, "Hey Luke, what's up?" Ashton asked, "We're just behind you, wait up" Luke said as he ended the call and waved at Ashton who waved back and waited for them to catch up. "Hey Luke, long time no see" Ashton said as soon as Luke caught up, "Yeah, nice to see you" Luke replied, "Hey Cal" Ashton then said, "Hey" Calum replied, "Michael tells me you got yourself a bit drunk at Christmas" Ashton said, "So I'm told" Calum replied with a smile, "Wouldn't worry about it, Luke is an expert at dealing with drunk people, you should see some of the states Michael got himself in" Ashton laughed as he said, "They prepare you for anything" Luke added, "Come on then, let get to this thing" Ashton said as they began to walk again after their brief stop to catch up.

Eventually they arrived at the house, Luke recognized the street from memory, "Do we knock?" Ashton asked, just as he did 2 people stumbled out of the front door and down the stairs, leaving the door open, "I guess not" Luke replied as they ascended the stairs and made their way in. It wasn't hard to find Michael as his hair was red again, so he stuck out from the crowd, "Hey Luke, Ash, Cal, great to see you guys" Michael said as soon as he spotted them, "How long have you been here?" Ashton asked, "A couple of hours" Michael replied, it was clear that he'd already had a few drinks, "I said I'd be a few minutes, I go in the shower and you've left, who does that?" Ashton asked, "Me, obviously" Michael replied with a laugh and Ashton rolled his eyes, "The drinks are in the back" Michael said as he pointed towards the kitchen, "Same place as last time?" Luke asked, "Yeah, oh…, you remember?" Michael asked, "What, you breaking the chandelier, oh yeah" Luke said, Michael was hoping no one remembered, "What's this" Calum asked Luke, "I'll tell you later" Luke replied, "Come on, let's grab a drink before they're all gone" Ashton said as he shuffled through the crowd towards the drinks.

Despite not wanting to be there Luke enjoyed spending time with Ashton as he felt like he was the older brother he never had, he felt he could talk to him about anything and catching up with him was something he had looked forward to for the past few days, so once they were past the obvious stuff Luke felt like it was time to mention drunk Calum, "Ash, do you say stupid things when you're drunk?" he asked as Calum was dragged away by Michael so he wasn't by himself, "Um…, yeah, I think everyone does" Ashton replied, "Why?" He then asked, "Have you said something to Calum?" he asked on top of his previous question, "No" Luke replied, but it was obvious that something was on his mind, "Did he say something?" Ashton asked, Luke nodded, "What did he say?" Ashton asked, "Nah, it's best I don't say" Luke muttered, "Luke…, you can't bring us to this point and not tell me" Ashton said, "Well, When I got him back to the flat, after we'd been to Michael's, well, he said he loved me" Luke said, Ashton wasn't expecting Luke to say anything like that, "Oh, right, ok" Ashton muttered, "How drunk was he?" he then asked, "Pretty bad" Luke replied, "I know this might hurt, but, he probably doesn't know he said it" Ashton said, "I know, it does hurt, I thought it meant something, but he hasn't talked about it since" Luke explained, "I think that means he doesn't know he said it" Ashton said, "Yeah" Luke said as he nodded, "Come on, let's grab another beer and we'll talk about it properly" Ashton said with a reassuring smile, he always knew what to do in situations like this, that's why Luke knew he was the right person to talk to.

Like he'd said Ashton grabbed 2 beers from the fridge and tried to find a seat, but when he couldn't he decided that the back garden was as good a place as any, "Come on Luke, I think I know where we can go" Ashton said as he pushed the back door open and stepped out, there were 2 people sat near the door but there was some furniture at the far end that was free, "We'll go and sit up there, it's quiet" Ashton said as they walked up the path and grabbed a chair each. Before he spoke Luke took a few sips from his beer, "So you don't think he knew he was saying it?" he asked, "Probably not, but the thing is, some people say things that they can't when there sober when there drunk" Ashton explained, Luke looked puzzled, "If you find it hard talking to someone, it can be easier if your drunk because you aren't thinking" Ashton explained, "Oh, so you think he wanted to say it but just couldn't?" Luke asked, "Yeah, pretty much" Ashton replied, Luke couldn't help but smile, he'd been hoping Ashton would say something like that as the thought had crossed his mind a couple of times.

Luke and Ashton talked over it for some time, Ashton was surprised that Luke hadn't spotted the signs that Calum liked him, "I just thought that since you liked him you be looking for the signs that he liked you" Ashton said, "No, I was so bothered that he wasn't going to leave that I never thought about how he felt about me" Luke replied, "I'm no expert, but, I'd say he likes you and Michael's noticed as well" Ashton said, "So you think I should ask him?" Luke asked, "It's up to you, I don't think he'd ask you in case you rejected him, because, well, you're probably the closest to family he's had for years" Ashton replied, "That's what I thought, so I don't want it to go the other way and him to say no, because then it gets awkward, he'd feel out of place and I don't want him to leave" Luke said, "I guess it's the risk you take" Ashton replied as he drank the last of his beer, "Guess we'll just carry on as we are" Luke muttered just as Calum appeared coming out of the back door, "Cal bring some beers" Ashton shouted, Calum stopped and went back inside, reappearing a minute later with 3 beers in his hand.

Calum grabbed a chair and pulled it up next to Luke, "What are you guys doing out here?" He asked, "It's too noisy in there, we wanted to catch up" Luke replied, "Oh, sorry" Calum said as he began to get up from his chair, "No, no, you can stay, we weren't getting away from you, it's more the crowd" Luke said, Calum stopped and then sat back down, "Hair cut Calum?" Ashton asked, "Yeah, it's so I didn't look like a tramp when we went to Michael's" Calum replied, "It was all a trick so he could go and buy me something for Christmas" Luke said, "Yeah, and I needed my hair cut" Calum said with a laugh, "It looks good, makes you look younger" Ashton said, "Thanks, I'm not sure you can make a 20 year old look much younger, but, ok" Calum said, "20, I thought you were 19?" Luke asked, "I was, well, I guess I am, maybe, it's my birthday today so I guess I can be both" Calum replied, "Your birthday…., you never said" Luke said, "I didn't want any fuss, it doesn't matter" Calum said, "It does, you can't just not celebrate your birthday" Luke said, "It's true Cal, you can't just miss your birthday" Ashton added, Calum went bright red, "I don't want any fuss from anyone, I'm ok just letting it pass" Calum said but it was too late, "I propose a toast, to Calum, for reaching the not as significant as 21 age of 20" Ashton said as he stood and held his beer in the air, Luke stood up and raised his glass next to Ashton's, "Ok" Calum said as he stood up and raised his glass next to the others, "To Calum" Luke said, "To Calum" Ashton added, Calum smiled and shook his head, "Thanks, I guess" Calum said as he took a drink from his bottle as they all sat back down, "This chandelier story you were talking about earlier?" Calum asked when they were all sat back down, "Ok, well…." Luke began as he and Ashton told the story of last year's party.

Just as they finished telling the story and the laughter began to die down, "Remember the look on the poor kids face who's house it is" Ashton said and Luke began to laugh again, "Michael had no idea what he'd just done" Luke said through the laughter, "Did they put a new on up?" Calum asked, "Well, there is one there this year, so, I guess so, but it probably cost a small fortune" Luke replied as Michael appeared from the back door and walked up the garden, "Hey Guys" he said, not his usual self, "What's up?" Ashton asked, "Not had the best night" Michael replied as he pulled a chair up and sat down between Ashton and Luke, "Is it still that girl?" Ashton asked, Michael nodded, "Which girl?" Luke asked, "The one he left your place early to go and meet up with" Ashton replied, "Oh" Luke muttered, "Well, she said that she thinks we should just be friends" Michael glumly mumbled, "Oh, Michael" Luke said as he wrapped his free arm around him, Michael let out a sigh, "It's not the end of the world, there are plenty of fish in the Sea" Ashton said, Michael turned and looked at him, "Do you think I'll find someone?" he asked, "Eventually, the right girl could be just around the corner" Ashton said, "Exactly, that’s the kind of attitude you need, you'll find someone in no time" Luke added, "Ok, but, I'm not feeling it tonight anymore, I kinda want to go home" Michael muttered, "Come on then, I've wanted to go home for the last hour" Luke said as they all finished their drinks and headed out of the garden via the back gate.

They all walked back up to the point where Luke and Calum had found Ashton earlier on, "Well, I guess I'll catch you guys later in the week" Luke said, "Will you?" Michael asked, "Yeah, Saturday night, drinks at our place, celebrating Calum's birthday" Luke replied, "When is it?" Michael asked, "Today" Calum replied, "Sorry, I almost missed it" Michael said seeing his phone showing 23:48, "Don't worry, I don't really want a fuss" Calum said as Michael wrapped his arms around him and pulled him in close, "I don't miss my friends birthdays, you'll learn very quickly" Michael said as he let Calum go, "Unless he forgets" Ashton said, "Way to spoil the moment Ash" Michael replied and Calum smiled, "Right, so, Saturday, we'll be there" Michael said, "Wouldn't miss it" Ashton added as they spilt and headed their separate ways.

Luke and Calum were making good time before they stopped and grabbed a coffee, "I'm so glad these places stay open 24 hours now" Luke said as they left with their drinks, "I use to be able to get a good night's sleep in these places, but then they started kicking anyone out who didn't buy something" Calum replied, "Well, you don't have to worry about that anymore" Luke said with a smile, in turn Calum smiled back, "You know earlier, when Michael said he doesn't miss his friend's birthday's?" Calum asked, "Yeah" Luke replied, "Was he referring to me as a friend?" Calum asked, "I'm pretty sure he was" Luke replied, "Oh, ok, I just wondered, because, well, I haven't had friends for a long time, so I just thought he might be saying it to be nice" Calum muttered, "No, I'm pretty sure he meant it, which means you must have passed his test tonight" Luke said, "What test?" Calum asked, "The one where you follow him around and make it look like your listening to him" Luke replied, "Was that some sort of test?" Calum asked, "I think so, he did it to me and when I asked Ashton he said he got it as well, he just likes to know you don't get bored with his conversation" Luke explained, "But all he talked about was this girl" Calum said suspired, "Yep, that's all he talked to me about, different girl though" Luke said, "Ah, right, ok, well he did say he knew some girls who were interested in me" Calum explained, "Were you interested in them?" Luke asked trying to play it cool and learn something about Calum, "Not really, I'm pretty happy at the minute" Calum replied, avoiding the answer Luke was hoping for, "I'm good living with you and RJ, I'll keep things simple for now" he added, "Are you calling me simple?" Luke asked, "Not intentionally, but it did come out that way, so I guess so" Calum said as a smile graced his face, "Thanks" Luke muttered as they reached the stairs up to the flat, "Must have been easier tonight with me being able to walk" Calum joked as he jogged up the stairs, Luke waited for a minute at the bottom, had Calum just said he was happy with him over some interested girl or had he heard him wrong, "Luke what are you doing" Calum called down, "Ok, I'm coming" Luke replied as he shook his head, 'Too late to be thinking over things' he thought to himself as he began to ascend the stairs.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for the comments, I do read them even if I don't reply. I've tried to split the paragraphs up a bit more to make them easier to read. Enjoy.


	17. In A Moment

Luke found himself sitting in his living room looking at his laptop screen, 13,574 words typed and only about 1,500 to go to reach his target of 15,000. After 4 months of work on his second years final essay he was finally nearing completion and he was finding himself becoming stressed as he felt like he'd missed out so much but didn't want to go back through it because he knew he'd end up rewriting the whole thing.

On the table next to his laptop was his phone, the screen was black and he hadn't received a text message all day and it was starting to get dark outside. Ever since his birthday when Ashton had given him his old Phone Calum had become a lot more independent and recently he'd started helping out in the shop where Ashton worked, it was only for 3 days a week and it was strictly voluntary but he seemed to enjoy it, but it left Luke with days in the flat by himself, well, almost, he still had RJ for company.

Luke was tempted to call him to see where he was as he was supposed to finish at 7, but somewhere in the back of his mind he knew that he shouldn't worry, Calum was 20 and more than capable of taking care of himself especially now that he didn't look so skinny, and he'd even mentioned wanting to go to the gym, but he knew he needed money first and finding a job was more stressful them he'd first thought and his stress was starting to rub off on Luke, who was already stressed enough.

For the next 15 minutes Luke looked at his phone hoping it would light up and Calum would say he was on his way home, he knew he shouldn't worry, he didn't even know if he needed to. Things had been strange for the last couple of months, Luke knew he had fallen head over heels for Calum, this was something he'd known for a while and he thought that Calum had felt the same, but recently he had noticed signs that this maybe wasn't the case. With Calum being out of the Flat more often he'd begun to communicate with more people and Luke was noticing that he was becoming attached to others just like he had with himself, now he was thinking that Calum was just the type of person that liked everyone, meaning that what he thought was there actually wasn't.

Luke's thoughts were interrupted as his phone lit up and buzzed which grabbed his attention, when he looked down at the screen he could see it was a message from Michael, he was just asking if they were still good to go for a drink the following night, something Luke confirmed and then placed his phone back down. It had been a couple of weeks since Luke had seen Michael, since they'd been given the rest of the term to finish their end of year essay they hadn't had the chance to catch up, the only time they'd spoken was when Michael pocket dialed a couple of days ago.

Luke flipped his laptop screen down and lay back into the sofa, closing his eyes and wishing his essay was finished and he could work out what was going on between himself and Calum. As he tried to zone out and relax he heard the front door open and then close again, followed by the sound of it being locked, between that and RJ's hurried exit from the room he knew it must have been Calum.

"Hey" Calum said, a smile gracing his face as he walked in with box in his hand, which RJ was very interested in, Luke quickly opened his eyes and looked over, "Hey" he said, his voice sounding tired as he did, "How's things?" Calum then asked as he placed his bag down on the kitchen table and walked over towards Luke, "You know, stressful" Luke replied as he pushed himself back up and pushed his hair back over to the side as it had fallen out of place when he leaned back, "I got you these on my way back" Calum said as he handed Luke the box he'd been carrying, "What's in it?" Luke asked, Calum rolled his eyes and then smiled, just like he had when he'd walked in, "Open it and find out" he replied, his smile was so disarming, it reminded Luke just why he'd fallen for him. 

The box was tightly wrapped and Luke struggled at first to get in, but he did and when he pulled it open he could see 6 freshly baked doughnuts wrapped up inside, "You shouldn't of" Luke said as he smiled and the smell burst out of the box and filled the room, grabbing RJ's attention as he jumped up on the sofa and looked inside the box, "No, these aren't for you" Calum said as he picked him up and placed him back down on the floor, "What are these for then?" Luke asked as he picked one out and unwrapped it, "Because I'm a thoughtful person and I knew you'd be stressed" Calum replied, Luke couldn't help but feel loved as he bit into the one he'd picked out and found out that they were filled with Jam, "Come on, how did you know I liked Jam?" Luke asked as he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, knowing that he'd never mentioned it since he hadn't had doughnuts while he'd been living in London, "Ashton told me, he said you mentioned it once and said you'd never had them while you were over here" Calum replied as he turned and wandered over into the kitchen, "Has this guy been fed?" he then asked as he looked down at RJ, "Shit, no" Luke mumbled with a mouth full of doughnut, making Calum laugh, something else that Luke loved about him, "Thank god I'm here or he'd probably die" Calum joked as he opened the cupboard and pulled the dog food out.

It was a quiet night and Calum was out for most of the next day so Luke spent the most part working on his essay. By the time he left to meet up with Michael he had 14,786 words done and could see the end was in sight, but he knew he had to go back through it, it was an advantage and a disadvantage of finishing with a few weeks left before the deadline, sometimes he wished he was more like Michael, with most of his essay's he wrote it once and finished with a day or so left so he never went back through them, simply because he didn't have the time, meaning he never worried he'd missed something because he knew he didn’t have time to change it.

"Hey Michael" Luke muttered as he walked into the Pub that they had agreed on as the meeting place and spotted him sitting in the corner, so he wandered over and took a seat next to the beer that was sitting opposite Michael's, "Hey Luke, long time no see" Michael replied as Luke sat down and wrapped his hand around the glass in front of him, "I thought you might like one" he added as Luke sipped from the top, "Damn right" Luke replied after he had taken his initial taste, "So how's things with you?" Michael asked as he raised his own glass to his mouth and drank from it, "They're ok, a bit stressful, but they're ok" Luke replied as he took a deep breath, Michael noticed straight away, "Come on, spill it, what's up?" Michael asked, probing Luke for the answer as now he knew he'd been be deceiving him when he'd said everything was alright, "It's nothing" Luke replied with a stern look and a firm voice, Michael knew then to drop the topic.

Luke was stressed and tired and found the conversation with Michael hard going, but managed stutter through most of it but it was all just a little boring. "Luke…., what's wrong?" Michael asked, he'd been wanting to ask for over an hour but knew he shouldn't, but he just couldn't wait any longer, "I'm not trying to stick my nose in, but I'm your friend and I can tell that something's bothering you" he added, Luke looked up from his beer, which he'd been staring at for the past couple of minutes, "Get me another beer and I'll tell you" he said with a small grin, "Ok, but the next round is on you" Michael replied as he slid out from his chair and walked over to the bar.

Returning with 2 new pint's of beer he sat down and placed them on the table, "Right, I held up my half of the deal, now you hold up yours" Michael said as he pushed Luke's new full glass across the table. Luke hesitated, but he knew he'd made a deal and he wasn't one to break a deal, "It's just life, it's just all over the place at the minute" Luke explained as he sipped on his beer, "I'm stressed working on my essay. I'm stressed at work because one of the 4 guys in my department has left, so until they replace them I'm taking on extra stuff. Then, worst of all, I'm stressed when Calum's around" Luke further explained, Michael was surprised by the final one, it was one of the first time's he could remember Luke having something negative to say about Calum living with him, "You'll have to elaborate further on the last one, I can understand the others but not that one" Michael said as he took a gulp of his beer.

Luke stalled for a minute, taking 2 or 3 sizable sips from his beer but then he began, hoping that Michael would understand what he was explaining, "I thought how we were was something special, but now that I've seen him around other people I've realized that he's just like that with everyone, there isn't anything special at all and now I just feel like there's nothing there, nothing to work towards" Luke explained, Michael gave a reassuring smile and rubbed Luke's hand that was resting on the desk, "I know what you're saying, I've seen Calum with others, I've been in the shop recently and you're right, he's the same with you as he is with anyone else, but…., I still feel like he's got a special connection with you" Michael explained, Luke tilted his head as he wasn't sure what Michael was saying.

It took Luke a minute to take in just what Michael was trying to say, "So, you think there is something there?" Luke asked, Michael nodded his head as he drank from his glass, "Like I said, I've been in the shop so I know he's social with people, but I also know that he talks about you a lot, like most of the time" Michael explained, "Carry on" Luke said as he wanted to hear the rest of what Michael had to say, "Well, everything is, Me and Luke this or Luke and I this or Luke did this. He loves talking about you and I know no one else he talks about like that" Michael explained and Luke smiled, "But I think you have to ask him or make the first move, I don't think he would" Michael added and Luke instantly felt nervous, "Why?" Luke asked, "He's not the type, he's too easy going to ask you something like that" Michael replied, Luke rested back in his chair and thought about what Michael had just said.

"So, you think if I asked him if we could be more than just friends he'd say yes?" Luke asked after considering what he had just been told, Michael nodded as he was drinking from his glass at the time Luke asked, "But, I don't want him to feel like I've asked him to move in just so we could be together, I don't want him to feel like he's trapped, because if he says no it gets awkward and then he doesn't have anywhere to go and-" At which point Michael interrupted him, "Luke, we've been here before, at least once, you run all of these things through your head and never get anywhere, why don't you just do it, if things don't go to plan he can move in with me and Ash, but even if he said no I don't see why he'd have to move out, I know it would be awkward but you can work though it, or just make it look like a joke" Michael said, Luke knew he was right, it wasn't the first time he had been through this stage and he'd never done anything about it, "Yeah, you know, you're right, I'm gonna do it tonight" Luke replied, he'd never been so certain of anything in his life before, he knew now was the time, all Michael could do was smile as he sipped on his drink.

Luke soon found himself sitting in the Flat waiting for Calum to come home, again just like last night it was nearing 8 and there was no sign of him. Eventually just before half past 8 the front door opened and RJ ran out of the room, it wasn't long until Luke could hear Calum's voice as he greeted RJ. Soon Calum was in the living room, he had a stupid grin on his face and Luke was curious, but wanted to make sure he got what he needed to say in before the conversation drifted away into some random topic.

Luke waited and waited, eventually he felt that the moment was right, just as Calum sat down with a coffee in his hand, "Calum do you-" Just as he said that Calum began to speak, "Luke I've got-" he said before stopping just like Luke did, neither was sure what to do as an awkward atmosphere descended on the room, Luke thought maybe Calum was going to save him the job so offered him the chance to speak first, "You go, sorry" he said as he smiled and Calum smiled back before speaking, "Sorry, but I need to tell you" Calum muttered, Luke wondered just where Calum was going with this, "I've been offered a full time Job at the shop" he added, his face was bursting with excitement, Luke was disappointed initially, he'd been hoping for something else, but then a sense of happiness came over him, Calum getting a job lifted the burden of care he felt like he had from off his shoulders, "That's great Cal, so is that like a straight away thing?" Luke asked, then he thought about calling him Cal, it wasn't something he'd really done that often and it didn't sound right, "Starting next week, I'll be there every day and I'll be getting paid for it" Calum replied, he couldn't keep the look of joy from his face as he said it.

Luke waited for a few minutes while he listened to Calum explain the details of his contract, thinking to himself that he needed to get his words in, tonight was the night, he needed to say something, but then the look on Calum's face was making him feel hesitant as he didn't want it to disappear, he was so happy, it was the happiest he'd ever looked and Luke couldn't take that away from him, in a moment things had changed, it wouldn't have been fair, so he sat back and thought, 'Tomorrow, I'll tell him tomorrow'.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it's taken so long, i've been busy lately, but here it is. Enjoy.


	18. Stressed Out

"I don't think I've ever been so stressed in my entire life" Luke said as he slumped into a chair and Michael placed a beer in his hand, he'd wandered across to Ashton and Michael's Flat to try and relax after a long day at work, "Where's Calum tonight?" Ashton questioned as he grabbed a beer from Michael who looked annoyed as he'd only taken 2 from the fridge and now he'd have to go back and get another, "He's at the Gym with someone from work, I can't remember his name" Luke replied as he sipped on the bottle he'd just been handed, "Scott, he's the one that goes to the gym" Ashton replied as the fridge slammed shut, signaling that Michael now had his beer.

"Calum said this morning that you'd been pretty stressed out lately" Ashton said as Michael dropped into the chair next to Luke and across from Ashton, "I've got a huge essay to finish up, I've got so much work on in the office it's unreal and then I've had to help Calum with all of his job application forms and certificates" Luke said as he gulped down some more of his beer, "Were they hard to go a hold of?" Michael asked, "It was pretty tough, it's even harder when the person wanting the forms has been reported missing for the past few years" Luke replied, it was easy to see that he was stressed, he'd hadn't smiled since he'd walked in and Luke always smiled when he visited.

"But since Calum starts work full time on Monday I'm guessing that you got them all sorted?" Ashton asked, knowing that it had been announced earlier on in the office that Calum would be a full member of the team from Monday and not just volunteering like he had been for the past few weeks, although it had been planned for him to start straight away it had taken a little while to get things in place, "Yeah, it's all sorted now" Luke replied as he took a final gulp from his bottle and his beer was gone, "Do you want another one?" Ashton asked, "Yeah" Luke replied as he handed the empty bottle to Michael who had began to stand to go and grab his friend another one.

"Ash was saying yesterday that Calum said the police had been around the other day, what was all that about?" Michael asked as he returned and handed Luke a fresh beer, "Sorry if you've been through this but I didn't catch the whole story yesterday" Michael added as he sat back down, "When we went for some of his certificates the other day, obviously it's registered that Calum was reported missing and the police have been informed, so they followed up and knocked on the door the other day looking for him" Luke explained, "So did they arrest him?" Michael asked and for the first time Luke smiled, "No, what would they arrest him for, he's been missing he didn't raid a bank" Luke replied as Ashton laughed, Michael just sipped his bottle and settled back in his chair looking slightly annoyed.

"It was weird though, I didn't know what was happening at first, when they asked to speak to him I thought something was wrong or that maybe he had done something, I'll admit I was worried but after they'd been there about 10 minutes Calum came and got me from my room, where I'd gone to give them some space, he just wanted me to confirm his story, which I did as much as I could, and after that the officers were happy and said that they would close the case as everything was now tied up" Luke explained, "So he doesn't have to go back up to Scotland or anything?" Michael asked, "No, because he's over 18 now he doesn't have to go back as he doesn't need a legal guardian anymore, if he was under 18 he'd have had to go back" Luke explained, "Looks like you're stuck with him now Luke" Michael joked and Luke gave a little smile, "Please tell me you've told him how you feel?" Ashton asked, Luke shook his head and his smile dropped away, "Why the fuck not?" Michael shouted, annoyed that Luke hadn't said anything yet, "I was about to, then he came in and told me about his job and I just didn't want to spoil the moment" Luke explained as he stood up, "I need the toilet" he said as he left the room.

"You've had 3 weeks now, 3 weeks since you found out about him getting this job, why haven't you told him?" Michael asked as soon as Luke walked back into the room, "It just hasn't been right, I've had so much to do we haven't had the chance to sit down and talk, I've been in the library most night until it's early morning just so I can work on my assignment because through the day I've been helping Calum or I've been at work" Luke replied, his voice deepened and he took a deep breath, his plan to relax was in shreds as he just kept thinking about everything that was making him stressed, "Give him a break Michael, he's been busy, it's not the type of thing he'll just want to spring on Calum" Ashton said and Michael nodded, acknowledging that he'd perhaps overstepped the mark.

"I know I've been stupid, because it would just have been easier if I'd told him" Luke muttered after a few minutes of silence from when Ashton had ended Michael's interrogation, "It doesn't matter Luke, I shouldn't have asked, you've been stressed and it's ok, if it didn't feel like the right time then it's not the right time" Michael said, seeing that his friend was more stressed than he had been when he'd entered the room in the first place, "I want to but I'm just nervous about it, I've never done it before, I've never felt like this about someone before" Luke mumbled, "I feel like we're treading well worn ground here Luke, we've been over this so many time, it's up to you to tell him and you alone" Michael said, knowing that they'd been over this so many times that there was nothing else he could say, "I could tell him if you want?" Ashton asked, Luke looked up, slightly surprised that Ashton was the one that suggested it, it felt like the roles had been reversed as it would normally be Ashton offering the advise and Michael offering to tell Calum. 

"How do you mean?" Luke asked, he was slightly confused, surely it would sound better coming from him rather than Calum finding out from someone else, "We'll I don't have to tell him directly, I just have to find out if he likes you, then maybe I can drop in that, well, you know, you kind of like him" Ashton explained, "Ok, but if he says he's not interested?" Luke asked, "I don't think he will" Ashton replied, "Why?" Luke quickly asked, feeling that Ashton was holding something back, "Well, I wasn't going to say anything but, when he found out about the job, he didn't tell any of us in the shop, he just carried on like nothing had happened, then at the end of the day we got called in and told that Calum had been offered and accepted a full time job, but that he didn't want anyone to know until after he left because he wanted to tell you himself and didn't want me or anyone letting you know before he did" Ashton explained, Luke was surprised, he knew it was important to Calum but it was clearly more important than he had first thought.

"I don't want to worry you Luke, but, no, no, sorry, it doesn't matter" Michael mumbled, Luke looked over at him, "No, I want to hear it, please" Luke said as he tried to think what Michael might have been about to say, "I just don't want you to wait too long, because, he might not wait forever, if he doesn't feel anything back he might start looking for someone else because he has the same issues as you, he might think you aren't interested" Michael explained, as the words came out of Michael's mouth it dawned on Luke for the first time that it might be the case, where he'd only been looking at it from his side he'd never thought that Calum might be having the same thoughts, "Shit, I didn't think about it like that, shit" Luke mumbled, "I need to tell him" he muttered under his breath, but just loud enough for Michael to hear, "I think you do, but, only if you feel it's right" Michael said with a reassuring smile.

"I should probably get back, RJ's been in by himself for a couple of hours now and I don't want him to get lonely" Luke said a few minutes later as he finished off his second beer, "Probably a good idea" Michael said as he pushed himself up and made his way to see Luke out as Ashton picked his phone up off the table as it began to buzz, "See ya Ash" Luke said as he left the room, "See ya" Ashton said as he lifted his phone to his ear, "Come on Luke, I'll see you out" Michael said as he followed Luke out and down the stairs, "I'll text you if anything happens" Luke said, "Don't be stupid, you don't need to text me or Ash or anyone, just do what you feel is right and don't feel like you have to text us" Michael said with a smile as Luke opened the front door and stepped out, "Right, ok, I'm just a bit nervous" Luke replied, "Don't be, there is nothing to be nervous about" Michael said as Ashton appeared from the stairs and stood next to Michael, "Luke, Calum's twisted his knee at the gym and he's in the waiting room at the hospital" Ashton said, "What?" Luke asked, not fully taking in what Ashton had just said, "Calum is in the waiting room at the hospital, he's twisted his knee and Scott has taken him there, Calum didn't want you to know because he didn't want you to worry, he wanted me to go over but I think it's best if you go" Ashton explained, this time slower and Luke took everything in, "Ok, ok, right, so…., it's that way?" Luke asked pointing over towards some tall buildings in the distance, "No, I'll come with you" Michael said as he grabbed a jacket from the hook by the door and stepped out, "I'll call Scott and let him know you're coming" Ashton said as Michael stepped out and pulled the door shut behind him, "Nothing's simple is it" Luke muttered with a worried smile on his face.


End file.
